Hidden Himesama
by SkyGem
Summary: In this story, the main characters name is not Echizen Ryoma but instead Lee Ryoma, why is this so? And why is this story called hidden hime-sama? Take a look inside and you'll see why. Full summary inside.
1. High School

summary: She lives with her mom and two older sisters, JiaYu and LeTing. Ever since she was little, her mom has always doted on her older sisters and she has been all but invisible and she is sick of it. So, one day, she decides to leave her home in Taiwan and go to study at Seishun Gakuen in Japan. When she gets there, she meets new friends and discovers a family she never knew she had. This is the story of how a young girl named Lee Ryoma dicovered her dream and became the legendary Echizen Ryoma, the one we all know as the Princess of Tennis.

OrchardLily: Ok, ok, I know what you all are thinking, I'm already in the middle of two PoT fanfics, what am I doing starting another one, right? Well, I just suddenly had this awesome idea and wanted to get it down before I forgot it. Now, I want you all to read this and tell me whether or not you think I should continue this story.

Disclaimer: The PoT characters in this fanfic such as Ryoma and Ryoga do not belong to me. Also this story isn't entirely mine. The evil older sisters and mother, I got from Cinderella. The **names **(not personalities) JiaYu and LeTing, are from a Taiwanese manga called Ingenuo, and the idea of her moving to Japan and meeting a certain two people again, are from Skip Beat but pretty much everything else is mine.

* * *

**Ryoma**

"Umm, mother?" I asked.

My mother turned to me sharply and said, "What do you want? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Well, I was wondering," I said, hesitating, then decided to just get it over with and said quickly, "I got a scholarship from Seishun Gakuen Koto Gakkou in Japan and was wondering if you would allow me to go there?"

"In Japan?" she asked. "And how will you get there?"

"They said in the letter that they would pay for the traveling fees, and for food and lodging for all three years. All you have to do is sign this permission form saying that I have your permission to attend. It'll be as good as having me completely gone, I won't even come home if I can help it."

"Hmm, okay fine. I'll let you go to this school," she said.

"Really? Thanks so much!" I said, excited.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, just bring me the permission form so I can sign it," she said and I gave it to her. After she had signed it, she asked, "When will the new term be starting?"

"In April," I said.

"What? April?" she asked, surprised.

"The japanese school system is different, their school starts in April." I said. "It even says so in the letter."

"I see, well, you are allowed to go to Seishun but you must still start high school here, you will got to XX academy with your sisters until spring break, then you may leave for Japan," she said.

"Yes, mother," I said, knowing it was better not to argue with mother. Even though the idea of going to XX academy put a damper on my spirits, at least I had something to look forward to.

So, as the days slowly dragged by, I started to get more and more excited while my sisters just kept getting meaner and meaner, probably jealous that I would be going to Japan. Though, I didn't really mind, thinking that if I could just bear with it for just a little longer, then I wouldn't have to see their ugly faces again! Finally, after the longest ten months of my life, it was finally spring break of my first year at XX academy and it was finally time for me to go to Japan!!


	2. Roommates

OrchardLily: Okay guys, I'm appologizing in advance because it might be a while before I update this fanfic again. Currently midterms is coming up at my school and I have **a lot** of homework and on top of that, I have four (I think) other fanfics that I also need to update and also like six others that are waiting to be published, so if it takes a while before the next update, then I'm sorry. Although, it might not be as long as I think, but you know, in case it does take that long......Well, on to the story!

* * *

**Ryoma**

As I got off the plane, I looked around, so this was Japan? Hmm, in my opinion, it wasn't that different from Taiwan. I went and got my luggage, found myself a taxi, and was, in about half an hour, at the Seishun Gakuen girls dorms. I went in to look around and soon found my room. When I walked in, I saw that girl about my age, with long braids of hair, was already there. She stood up when I entered and said, in a shy voice, "Hello! My name is Ryuuzaki Sakuno and I will be your roomate!"

"Hello, my name is Lee Ryoma, nice to meet you."

"Lee?" she asked. "That's not a japanese name, is it?"

I turned to look at her and she blushed slightly, seeming embarrassed. "No, it's not. My mother is Taiwanese and I took her last name."

"Your mother? What about your father?" she asked.

"I don't know my father," I said.

She blushed again and immediately said, "I'm so sorry! I didn't know!"

I laughed and said, "Don't worry, it's not your fault. So, if we're going to be living together, do you want to be friends?"

She smiled and said, "Sure!"

"Okay then! If you're not busy right now, wanna hang out? I'm kinda new to Japan and don't know my way around so....." I trailed off.

"Sure!" she said. "Le's go!" So, after I had finished unpacking my clothes, we went to the park for some ice cream, and really just walked around. I had a really good memory so, by the end of the day, you could have dumped me anywhere in town, and I still would have been able to find my way back to the Seishun dorms.

"That was fun!" I said to Sakuno when we got home.

"It sure was! Too bad we had to return early because of school tomorrow."

"Yeah, but it's not that bad. We're starting high school, it might be kinda fun."

"Fun? I think it will be scary."

"Don't worry, I'll be there, you trust me, don't you?" 

"Of course!"

"Then everything will be fine!"

_**The Next Day**_

The opening ceremony had just finished and I was talking to Sakuno. "Yay! We're in the same class!" I said.

"Yeah! That's awesome!"

"Sakunooooooo!!" came a voice from behind us and I turned around to see a girl with pigtails coming towards us, waving.

"Tomo-chan!" said Sakuno. "Which class are you in?"

"I'm in class 1-2," said the girl called Tomo-chan.

"We're in that class too!" said Sakuno.

"We?" she asked, then she finally noticed me and turned to ask in a friendly voice, "Who are you?"

"My name is Lee Ryoma, I'm Sakuno-chans roommate."

"Nice to meet you, Ryoma-chan, my name is Osakada Tomoko," she said.

"Nice to meet you, Osakada-san," I said.

"Oh, there's no need to be so formal! Just call me Tomo-chan! We are friends now after all!" she said. We kept talking as we walked to our new homeroom and, since the teacher was letting us choose our seats, we got seats next to each other. We soon had to stop and pay attention to Asakura-sensei(is Asakura a male or female name? I'm not quite sure), our teacher, and school just dragged so long. Not because Asakura-sensei was boring, but because I had learned all this at XX academy. Finally, It was lunch, and the three of us took out our lunches and started eating. We talked and talked and after it seemed about only five minutes had passed, lunch was over and we had to go to class. For the next two hours or so, school was over and I was frre to go. On our way back to the dorms, I saw a poster that the tennis club, which was co-ed, needed a club manager. _Club manager? That seems cool._ I had always been fascinated with tennis and, even though I had never played before, I knew all the rules and watched tournaments and such whenever I could.

"Ne, Sakuno-chan? Why don't you go ahead, I want to check something," I said to her.

"Hm? Oh, are you going to try out for the tennis club?" she asked.

"No, I don't play, but the club manager position seems kinda interesting."

"Oh, okay, see you later," she said.

"Bye," I said to her, then turned towards the tennis courts. When I got there, I found the club room and went inside to talk to the coach.

"Excuse me, sensei?"

"She looked up and smiled at me. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

"Well, I was wondering if you've found anyone for the club manager position?"

"As a matter of fact, we haven't. Would you like to take on the position?"

"I would love to!" I said.

"Great, you'll start tomorrow! By the way, my name is Ryuuzaki Sumire and I'm the coach so if you ever need anything just ask me."

"Ryuuzaki? Would you by any chance be related to Ryuuzaki Sakuno, sensei?" I asked her.

She looked surprised and said, "Actually, I'm her grandmother."

"Really? It's so nice to meet you! I'm Lee Ryoma, her roommate."

Once again, Ryuuzaki sensei smiled and said, "Really? Well, I'm happy that she got such a nice girl like you as her roommate."

"Thank you," I said, blushing slightly. "Anyways, I'm sorry, but I have to go now, goodbye sensei."

"Goodbye," she said.

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OrchardLily: So, that's the end of the chapter and I would appreciate it if you'd review! All constructive criticism, suggestions, corrections, and compliments are greatly apprecoated. Thank you!

P.S. She'll be meeting the regulars in the next chapter! ^_^


	3. The Tennis Club Regulars

OrchardLily: Okay, just 'cause I found time to write one more chapter, don't disregard what I said last time, I wrote this 'cause I'm done all my homework and I'm bored. After this I'll probably write the next chapter of "Reunion" which is a Kanata Kara fanfic that I haven't updated in soooooo long. Now, on to the story!

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**Ryoma**

The next day passed by really fast, probably because I had something to look forward, and so, before I knew it, school was over and I was on my way to the tennis courts. When I got there, Ryuuzaki-sensei called all the members together and told them, "Everyone, this is Lee Ryoma, and from today on, she will be our club manager."

After she was done talking, I bowed and said, "Yoroshiku onegaishimasu."

"So she's going to be our new manager? Yay! She's so cute!" said a hyperactive redhead. I was about to respond when said redhead suddenly glomped me. "Ne Ryoma-chan, would you mind if I called you ochibi-chan? Huh? Huh? Huh?" I would have replied but I could suddenly no longer breathe because the redheads extremely tight bearhug had closed up all my airways.

"Oy, Eiji!" said a worried looking sempai who had short hair except for two long bangs in front. "Let her go! She can't breathe!"

"Huh?" said the one called Eiji. "Nya, gomen, ohcibi-chan. So, can I call you ochibi-chan?"

"Of course, sempai."

"Yaayyyyy!! By the way, my name is Eiji Kikumaru." As if this were a signal, all the other regulars started introducing themselves too.

"I'm Momoshiro Takeshi, but you can just call me Momo-chan" said a second year with a short spikey hairdo.

"My name is Inui Sadaharu, nice to meet you," was the reply of a third year with glasses.

"My name is Oishi Shuichiro," said the third year who had spoken up before, the one with the two long bangs.

"Hello, I am Kawamura Takashi," said a shy looking yet strong guy with brown hair.

"Fsssssshhhhh, Kaido Kaoru," hissed out a second year who somehow reminded me of a snake.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Fuji Syuusuke," said a closed-eyed smiling third year with pretty brown hair.

"I'm Tezuka Kunimitsu, the buchou, welcome to the Seigaku tennis team," said a stern looking third year.

"Nice to meet you," I said, bowing again.

"So, can you play?" asked Momoshiro.

"Um, actually, I can't, but I love to watch tennis," I said.

"Really? Why don't we teach you? We can-"

He was suddenly cut off by Tezuka saying, "I thought we were in the middle of practise? You can talk later, now go!" As soon as he said this, the players excused themselves and returned to training right away and I went off to do my jobs. And so, the days passed by and, before I knew it, I had already been at Seigaku for two months and summer break was starting. I had become good friends with all the regulars on the tennis team, especially Momoshiro. I was happy that we were going to have a break but we still had practise because the regional tournament was starting soon after we would come back from summer vacation and even though I wasn't a regular or even a member of the club, I still had to come everyday. The first three days of summer vacation were normal and uneventful but the fourth day was nothing of the sort. Why? Because, on my way home from shopping, I bumped into a guy, a guy who, even though I had never seen him before, looked very familiar. He had emerald tinted hair and golden cat-like eyes that looked really familiar. No way...................

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OrchardLily: That's the end of the chapter, now, I bet you can guess who she bumped into. Hehe, I'm so evil, and the worst part is, I have no idea when I'll be uploading the next chapter. Well, thanks for reading this far and see you next time!


	4. A Surprising Encounter

OrchardLily: Okay, so I'm all talk, you can all disregard what I said before, it didn't take me as long as I thought it would to find time to write this chapter, but, I guess that's because I'm almost as eager as you guys for this chapter, it was really fun to write and I hope it's just as fun to read, for you guys. Well, on to the story!

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**Ryoga**

It was the fourth day of summer vacation and I was on my way home from the courts when I suddenly bumped into a girl. She fell to the ground and I was about to apologize when she looked up. When I saw her face, I was frozen to the spot in shock. Why? Because, there, on the ground, I saw a girl, about 14 years old, who had the same emerald tinted hair and golden, cat-like eyes that I had inherited from my father. We stared at each other in shock for a moment, then, coming out of my stupor, I held out my hand to help her up, and said, "I'm sorry, miss. Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, thank you," she said politely.

I stared at her for a second, her voice reminded me a lot of father, then said, "I'm sorry if it seems nosy, but, may I ask your name?"

"Ryoma. My name is Lee Ryoma," she said.

"I see, then, Ryoma-san, not to make you uncomfortable, but, who might your father be?"

She looked at me strangely, then said, "I don't know my father."

"I see, then, your mother?" At this, she looked at me, seemingly annoyed, and I quickly said, "I'm sorry, but, I need this information to clear something up."

She frowned, then said, "Her name is Lee Cheung Linn."

_So, her mother is chinese_, I thought as I pulled out my cell, quickly dialing in my father's number.

_"Hello?" _asked a voice from the other side.

"Wassup, oyaji? It's me, Ryoga!" I said into the phone.

_"Oh, it's you. What do you want, brat?"_

"Well, I was wondering if, about 14-15 years ago, you slept with a chinese lady named Lee Cheung Linn?" Now, most people wouldn't jump to this conclusion, but, considering that my father was, in fact, in China at that time, and considering his perverted nature, the girl standing in front of me right now could very well be my younger half-sister.

_"As a matter of fact, I did. Why do you ask?"_

"Well, I was on my way home from the courts when I bumped into a girl, about 5 years younger than me, who has the same eyes and hair as us and claims to be Lee-sans daughter ."

"_WHAT!?!!?"_

"Geez, oyaji, no need to shout. You want me to go deaf?"

_"But, what you just said, is it true? You're not joking?"_

"That's right. So, what should I do about it?"

_"Hmm, well, if it's okay with her, you should first get a DNA test, just to be sure. When you're done that, call me back," _he said, and hung up.

"Geez, that damn traitor, he's leaving me to do this alone."

I turned to look at the girl, Ryoma, and asked her, "If you're not doing anything important right now, would you be willing to take a DNA test?"

"A DNA test?" she asked, looking confused.

"That's right. There's a slight possibility that you're my little sister so, to make sure, dad wants to have you take a DNA test."

She looked really shocked and said, "But, that's not possible! I - I can't be your sister!"

"Well, we'll find out soon enough, that is, if you're willing to take the test?"

"Well..." she looked hesitant at first, but then she said, "Okay, but, isn't it expensive?"

"Oh, no need to worry about that, I'll pay for it, I have more than enough."

"Eh? B-but-"

"Not another word. I said it's fine."

"O-okay."

"Now, let's go!"

"What? Right now?"

"Yeah! Let's go!" I said, pulling her after me.

~*~*~*~

**Ryoma**

"Now, that wasn't so bad, right? Now, all we have to do is wait two weeks, until the results come," said the boy named Ryoga as we walked out of the hospital. "So, wanna go get some ice cream?"

I looked at him, confused. "Ice cream? But, you barely know me, why would...."

"It doesn't matter how long I've known you, we're friends now, right? Anyways, I want to practise being a big brother."

"But, we're not even sure whether or not you are my big brother, and that's not how big brothers act, is it?"

"Of course it is...at least, I think it is. So, wanna go?"

"But, Echizen-san-"

"Call me nii-chan."

"What?"

"Nii-chan, call me nii-chan."

"Yadda," I said.

"But why?" he whined, sounding like an overgrown toddler.

I giggled, "Okay, fine, how about I call you Ryoga-nii-san."

"Fine, but I'll get you to call me nii-chan one day."

"Ha! Yeah right!"

"So, ice cream?"

"Okay, fine, I'll come get ice cream with you, happy?"

"Yay!!!" I giggled again, _And this guy is supposed to be my __**older **__brother?_ I thought as I followed him towards the park.

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OrchardLily: I'm sorry if the events seemed a bit rushed, but, well, slowing it down would be kinda hard. If you have any suggestions on how I should edit/change this chapter, feel free to message me or mention it in a review.


	5. I Have A Nii chan!

OrchardLily: Hey guys! Yeah, you guessed it, I'm going crazy with uploading. In the last week, I've uploaded at least five chapters. But anyway, this chapter is a little dull but, you get to see how Ryoma finally calls Ryoga nii-chan! Although, it's not likely to happen again 'cause most of the time, she'll be calling him "you damn oji-san." Well, on to the story!

**Ryoma**

It had been a little more than two weeks since I had met Nii-san and I had spent most of that time either at tennis practise, or 'bonding' with my new big brother, or so he claimed. I wouldn't believe it until the results of the test came back. So, how were we bonding? Well, by playing tennis of course! It was tons of fun and I was improving rapidly.

_Flashback_

_"What? You don't know how to play tennis?"_

_"Well, I know the rules, I've just never played before."_

_"Why not?"_

_"Well," I said, kind of hesitant. "My older sisters have been playing since they were little and are really good and mom always gets them everything they want but she never spends more money for me than she needs to. I'm more like a maid to her than a daughter, so, she never bothered to pay for lessons for me or even buy me a racket. And my sisters always had something better to do than spend time with me."_

_"What? Your mother really treated you like that?"_

_"That's right, when she found out that I had gotten a scholarship to a school in Japan, hundreds of miles away from her, she was practically dancing with joy."_

_Ryoga looked really shocked at this. He came over and hugged me and said, "Ryoma, would you like to come and live with me and father?"_

_"What? But, what if I'm not really your sister?"_

_"I don't care if we're blood related or not, you're already like a sister to me. If you really are my sister, then dad will find a way to aquire custody of you and if you're not, we can always adopt you, and I promise, we'll treat you much better than they ever treated you. We'll actually treat you like family"_

_I looked up at him with tears in my eyes, "Really?" I asked. He nodded. "Thank you so much, Ryoga-nii."_

_"No problem," he said while smiling and whiping the tears off my face. "Now, let's start playing! You can borrow my racket."_

_"Really?"_

_"Uh huh!"_

_Fifteen minutes later, Ryoma and Ryoga were changed and ready to play. "Now, try hitting the ball back," said Ryoga as he served underhand. As the ball sailed over the net, my body moved automatically to the exact position from which I could most easily return the ball. As the ball hit the racket, I adjusted my hand and hit the ball with just enough strength to get it over the net, but not enough for it to go out of bounds._

_Ryoga stared at me, shocked. "Are you sure this is the first time you've played tennis?" he asked._

_I nodded. "I always watch pro tennis whenever I can, but, this is my first time holding a racket."_

_"I see," said Ryoga with a thoughtful look on his face. "I guess you would be what is called a tennis prodigy, which only strenghtens my belief that you are indeed my younger sister."_

_"Yeah, yeah," I said. "Stop yapping and serve the ball already."_

_End Flashback_

I smiled and was suddenly pulled out of my thoughts by the ringing of my cell.

"Hello?" I said as I picked up the phone.

_"Hey, chibisuke! It's me Ryoga!"_

"Hey, Ryoga-nii, and how many times have I told you not to call me that?"

_"Never mind that, I called to tell you that the results are here!"_

"What? Really? So? What is it?"

_"I haven't checked yet, I was witing for you, so hurry up and come over!"_

"'Kay! I'll be there in about twenty minutes!"

**Ryoga**

The results were finally here! It was hard to resist looking but then Ryoma was finally here and I was tearing open the package that had arrived in the mail this morning. I scanned the page, looking for that one piece of information that would tell me whether or not Ryoma really was my little sister. There it is! And the result is........positive! Ryoma really is an Echizen!

"What?" said Ryoma from beside me.

I turned to look at her and, on her face, was an expression of shock, wonder, excitement, and immense joy. "See? I told you!" I said to her in a smug voice. At this, she looked at me, her eyes full of tears. She smiled through her tears and gave me a hug. I was shocked by the gesture at first, but, that isn't to say I didn't like it. Slowly, my arms made their way around her waist and held her close to me.

"It's okay," I said to her. "There's no need to cry. From now on, you'll be living with me and dad and I promise, we'll treat you like the precious princess you are. You never have to go back to that evil place ever again if you don't want to," I said, reffering to her home, or I guess I should say ex home, in Taiwan.

"Thank you nii-chan, thank you so much!"  
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OrchardLily: Sorry, this chapter was a bit short, but I promise the next one will be longer. Anyways, be sure to review and tell me what you though about it!


	6. Meeting The Samrai

OrchardLily: Hey guys! The next chapter is finally out! Anyways, I hope you like it. Oh, and by the way, if any of you are also reading Twin Samurai, then go to my profile and vote on which two should become regulars: Ryoma, Momo, or Kaido. Well, anyway, continue on to the story!  
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**Ryoma**

It was the first week of July and I was having a wonderful sleep when, suddenly, I was woken up by my phone ringing. Irritated, I picked up my phone to see who it was, and, of course, it was none other than, Ryoga.

"What do you want?" I asked.

_"Aw, is that any way to speak to your elders?"_

"Yeah, yeah, we can talk about my bad manners later, now, what do you want?"

_"Well, papa just called to say that he'll be coming home this afternoon, and he wants to meet you."_

"What? Your dad's coming back today?"

_"You mean __**our**__ dad, and yes, he is. So, what time should I come pick you up?"_

"Come over in three hours, now please, leave me alone so that I can go back to sleep!"

_"Okay, okay! Bye-bye, chibisuke!"_ Without saying else I hung up and went to sleep.

"Hey! Chibisuke! How you doing?"

"Apart from being woken up at five in the morning by my annoying new older brother, I'm doing absolutely fine, thank you for asking."

"Ne, you don't have to be so grumpy, I was just excited!"

"Yeah, but that doesn't make it okay for you to wake me up so early!" I shouted.

Looking apologetic, he said, "Okay, so I guess that was pretty early, forgive me?"

I sighed and said, "Fine, whatever, now, let's go!" As we both jumped into the car, I started wondering what my father would be like. From what Ryoga had said he was very carefree and looked a lot like us, meaning, he had the same green hair and golden eyes. Anyways, while I was submerged in my thoughts, we had arrived at the house and I was soon being rushed inside.

"Now, c'mon, chibisuke, there's something I want to show you."

"Something you want to show me?" I asked, looking at him confusedly, "What?"

"Just follow me and you'll see," he said. As I followed him upstairs, I started to get nervous. From the grin on Ryoga's face, I could tell that whatever was coming was either really good, or really bad. When we finally stopped in front of a room, I realized that it was the room I slept in whenever I stayed over. Getting kind of curious, I went in. There, on the bed, I saw a long, floor-length dress. It was strapless and fanned out at the knees. It started out as a pretty, light lavender that was nearly white up near the bosom and became a dark midnight violet near the bottom. It was simple, yet elegant and I suddenly found myself wondering what I would look like if I tried it on.

Pushing the thought away, I asked Ryoga, "Who's dress is that?" pointing towards the dress.

He smiled and said, "Why, it's yours, of course."

I turned to look at him, shocked. "What do you mean, mine?"

When he saw my face, he started laughing like crazy. "Tell me!" I said again.

After he had finally managed to stop laughing, he said, "Well, you see, papa is going to hold a party soon and you are also coming. So, when I heard about it the other day, I went and found a dress for you. So? Do you like it?"

"Well, yes, it's really nice but that's not the point! What do you mean by party?"

"Remember when I asked you to move in with us?" I nodded. "Well, papa was extremeIy happy when he heard that and decided that as soon as he had gained custody over you, he would hold a huge party where he would introduce you as his daughter."

I looked at him with widening eyes. "Please tell me you're joking," I said.

"Sorry, kid, but it's the cold, hard truth," he said, not looking sorry all.

"There's no way to change it?" I asked, pleading.

"Nope! But, being the awesome brother I am, I will help you so that you don't make a total fool of yourself."

"What awesome brother?" I asked, pouting. "If you're such an awesome brother, then how come you can't make father cancel that party?"

"I already told you, that's not possible, so let's just do our best with what we have, okay?"

I sighed, knowing it was hopeless, and said, "Fine."

Ryoga's face brightened up, "'K, so we'll practise until noon, then have a break for lunch. Father will be home around three, so that'll give us another two and a half hours of practise before he get's here."

"Fine, so, what will we be practising first? Fine dining?" I asked, joking.

"How did you know?"

I sweatdropped at this, "We're really going to practise fine dining?"

"That's right! Now, let's get started!"

It was finally lunch time and I was sick and tired of, "the forks go on the left!" or "that's not how you use a soup spoon!" Suddenly, a horrible thought popped into my head. I turned to Ryoga and asked, "Are we going to practise fine dining at lunch too?"

He turned to look at me and laughed. "No worries, kid, we're having pizza for lunch, so relax." I let out a sigh of relief. After about three hours of having to practise a way of eating that was absolutely unnatural in my opinion, it was a relief to be able to eat like a normal person.

After we had finished eating, Ryoga said to me, "Now, it's time for you to start learning english. I know you probably won't learn enough of it by the party, but it'll be good for future gatherings of the sort."

When I heard him say this, I smiled, this was actually something I already knew. **"Actually, big brother, I already know english."**

When he heard this, he looked incredibly shocked. He said, **"Oh? And when did you learn to speak english?"**

**"Well, ever since I was little, I have always wanted to go to America, mostly to get away from my mother. Anyways, I knew that, if I ever did manage to go, I would need to know english. So, how is my english?"**

**"It's amazing, you sound like a native!"**

**"Thank you!"**

"Well, looks like we don't need to learn that," said Ryoga, returning to speaking Japanese. At that moment, we heard a noise from the foyer and went to look. There, I saw a man who looked to be in his late twenties, with long, waist-length green hair tied up in a high ponytail.

"Dad!" shouted Ryoga, going up and hugging the man. _Dad!?! That's our dad? He looks more like an older brother!_ I thought, looking at him.

Suddenly, he turned and started walking towards me. "So, you're Ryoma-chan?" he asked. I nodded, and, before I knew it, I was caught up in a bearhug. "Ryoga told me about Linn. Don't worry, from now on, I promise, you will never be treated like that again," he said as he released me.

"Thank you, Echizen-san." I said.

Looking down at me, he said, "What Echizen-san? You're supposed to call me dad!"

"O-okay, d-dad," I said and was swept into another hug.

* * *

OrchardLily: So, how did you like it? Please review. So, until next chapter! Bye-bye!


	7. Back To Taiwan

SkyGem: Here's the next chapter, I'm sorry it took so long, but it's June and exams are starting in two weeks, so I'm a bit busy. Anyways, enough of my babbling, I hope you enjoy this next instalment of Hidden Himesama.  
_

**Ryoma**

"Hey, chibisuke, wake up, it's almost time to land."

Yawning, I said, "Okay, I'm up, I'm up," to my brother who was still shaking me. As I put my seat belt on and looked out the window, I saw that we were right above Taiwan at the moment and would be arriving at the airport in moments.

The next half hour passed by in a blur and I was soon on my way to my old home.

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" asked my brother worriedly. "You know, I could do this for you instead."

Shaking my head, I said, "No, I have to do this myself."

Still looking worried, he said, "Okay, if you're sure."

What exactly was it that I was doing? Well, I was about to face my old devil of a mother and try to convince her to let me move in with onii-chan and otou-san. Sounds hard? Well, it's actually a lot easier than it sounds, all I have to do is not tell her the whole truth, since, if I did, she would no doubt try do something to make this more difficult because of her greed.

"Okay, Ryoma, we're here."

"Thanks, onii-san. If all goes well, I'll be done in about fifteen minutes."

Kissing me on the forehead, he said, "Okay, I'll be here to pick you up, I just need to make sure our Taiwan mansion is in order, since we'll be staying there while we're here."

Jumping out of the car with the lawyer right behind me, I said, "Bye, Ryoga!" and headed towards the house.

**Cheung Linn (Ryoma's mother)**

I was watching a drama on TV when I was suddenly interrupted by the ringing of the doorbell. Turning the television off, I went to see who it was.

When I opened the door, I got an unexpected surprise. There, standing on the porch, was my daughter Ryoma, and beside her, was a young man in his twenties, wearing a business suit.

Smiling, I said, "Why hello Ryoma! It's so good to see you! I didn't know you were coming home!"

Smiling back, Ryoma said, "I'm sorry I didn't inform you beforehand mother, but this won't take long, only about ten, maybe fifteen, minutes."

Hearing this, I said, "Oh? That's too bad. Anyway, why don't you come in?"

Smiling, she and the young man came in. As I led them to the living room, I wondered what could have brought her here, and who the young man was.

Arriving to the living room, I said, "Would you like any refreshments? Something to drink perhaps?"

This time, the young man answered. "I'm sorry, Miss Lee, but you see, we are very short on time, and must pass up that offer. Now, please take a seat."

Sitting down, I started to get very curious. _Short on time? What are they here for, anyway?_

"Now," continued on the young man. "My name is Chan Yung Jo, and I'm a lawyer, hired by the young miss here," he said, gesturing to Ryoma.

_A lawyer? What's a lawyer want with me?_ "Oh, and what would be your business with me?" I asked, trying not to sound rude.

"Well, I'll let the miss explain."

I turned to look at Ryoma. "Well, you see, mother, there's a man in Japan who would like to take me in, permanently. But, you see, he can't legally do that unless you sign a few forms saying that it's okay for him to take custody of me, and, basically, he wants to take your place as my guardian."

When I heard this, I was extremely surprised. Ryoma would be getting adopted? I felt a strange little pang in my heart. But I have to do this, or she'll never leave. "Why would he want to take you in?" I asked.

"Because, lately, I've started to become really close to his son, and, seeing as he doesn't have a daughter, he wanted to take me in," she answered smoothly.

_Getting _close _with? She can't mean…,_ I thought. "I see," I said. "Then where do I need to sign?

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to read the form before you sign it?" asked the lawyer.

Waving my hand, I said, "Oh, there's no need, now, show me where to sign."

Smiling, the lawyer pointed to six different places, all spread out between four pages, where I either had to sign or initial. Finally, I had finished signing the forms and was no longer Ryoma's legal guardian. I was about to shoo them out when LeTing and JiaYu suddenly burst through the door looking excited.

"Mom! You'll never guess…" LeTing trailed off as soon as she saw Ryoma. "What are **you** doing here?" she asked in a not so friendly voice.

"Disappearing from your lives for good," replied Ryoma in a pleasant voice.

"What ever," said JiaYu, then turned to me, saying, "Anyways, there's this really cute guy with a limo parked right outside our house!"

Before I could respond, Ryoma piped up, "Well, I would love to stay and chat, but it seems my ride is here, so I really must be going."

Turning back to her, a little upset, I said, "I see, it's too bad you couldn't stay longer." I followed her to the door, and let her out.

As soon as she was out, she ran up to a young man standing in front of a limo, shouting something in Japanese and hugging him. Seeing this, I was incredibly shocked, because, as I took a closer look, I found, to my surprise, that the young man looked a lot like her. He had the same hair, and eye color, and the same basic facial structure. Seeing them together, it was obvious that they were brother and sister. Suddenly, a thought came into my head, _It can't be! Did she find out who her father is?_

**Ryoga**

"Onii-chan! I did it!" shouted Ryoma as she ran towards me to give me a hug.

"Congratulations, chibisuke!" I said, returning her hug.

Looking up, I finally saw Lee Cheung Linn, the woman who was supposedly Ryoma's 'mother.' Going up to her, I said in perfect Chinese, "Why, hello there, you must be Miss Lee, Ryoma's mother. It's nice to meet you; I'm Echizen Ryoga, Ryoma's older half-brother." Looking dumbstruck, she just nodded her head and I continued. "I would like to personally thank you for taking such good care of my little sister for so long and, to do that, I would like to invite you and your daughters to a party we're holding at our Taiwan mansion in four days."

"What!" shouted Ryoma in Japanese. "We're holding it here? And why are you inviting them?"

Pinching her cheek and making it look as if I was reprimanding her, I said in Japanese, "Yes, we're holding it here, and I'm inviting them because otou-san and I just wanted to have some fun. You know, embarrass them a little as revenge for what they did to you. You didn't really think we would let them off easy?"

A wide grin appearing on her face which she tried to hide, Ryoma turned to her mother and said, "I really hope you three can make it. The party starts at five in the evening four days from now, and I will send someone to come pick you guys up. Now, if you'll please excuse us, the flight here was tiring and we must go get some rest. Farewell."

As she said this, we both turned and left, leaving behind three astounded maidens.  
_

SkyGem: So, that's the chapter. I hope you liked it and please review. The next chapter will be the party, and let's just say, it won't be very pleasant for the three witches. Also, if you want the next chapter out soon, then review. The more reviews I get, the faster the next chapter will be out.


	8. A New Love?

**Linn**

I had just finished getting ready when the doorbell rang. Going to the door, I saw a man wearing a suit standing there.

"Yes?" I asked, wondering who he was.

"You must be miss Linn," he said, smiling. "The young miss sent me to pick you and your daughters up."

"I see. Just a second, please," I said, then turned and shouted, "LeTing, JiaYu! Hurry up! It's time to go!"

For the party, I had dressed quite formally, as it was apparent that this would be a rich people's party. I was wearing a long, formfitting, spaghetti-strap, black dress, with stones under the bosom and spiraling down to the hem. My hair was left open and reached just past my waist. As my daughters came down the stairs, I scrutinized them. JiaYu was wearing a knee-length fiery red silk dress coupled with a pair of red strap high heels. Her hair was in an intricate braid and around her neck and on ears were a necklace and matching earrings embedded with some type of red stone. LeTing, on the other hand, was wearing a longer, ice blue, sleeveless dress and dark blue heels. Her short, black hair was left open and she was wearing a pair of stunning, dark blue earrings with matching necklace. Satisfied with how they looked, I said, "Now, come girls, it's time to go."

"Yes, mother," they replied in unison.

We left and were soon on our way to wherever it was the party was being held. When the driver slowed down and arrived in front of a gigantic mansion, I was stunned. This is where the party was being held? Even if they had only rented it, as I expected they had, it was still pretty impressing. Did they really have that much money?

Snapping out of my awe, I stepped out of the limo, followed by my daughters. I walked up the wide stairs and towards the magnificent front door. Arriving there, we walked in and were greeted by a magnificent sight. We were in a massive foyer full of hundreds of finely dressed rich men and women, and right smack in the middle of it all, was a gorgeous spiraling staircase leading to what I assumed was the second floor.

"I see you have arrived, Linn," came a smooth voice, drawing my attention to a young looking man standing in front of me. He had the same hair and eyes as Ryoma and Ryoga and I could tell he was their father. He was wearing a black tuxedo and his long greenish hair was pulled back in a simple ponytail. There was nothing spectacular about him, but something about his very presence gave off a feeling of grandeur, which made him seem intimidating, yet carefree and kind at the same time. Couple this with his handsome face, and you get a very attractive Echizen Nanjiroh.

"Echizen-san, it's nice to see you again," I said, trying to hide my surprise. I should've guessed it was him.

"Oh, please, just call me Nanjiroh," he said, smiling.

Nodding, I said, "If you'd prefer."

Turning to JiaYu and LeTing, he said, "And who might these lovely young ladies be?"

"These are my daughters JiaYu and LeTing," I introduced.

"Nice to meet you!" they both replied in unison, blushing a bright red.

"Nice to meet you too," he said, "Please, come in, mingle a bit."

We turned to walk, but then something seemed to catch his attention. Quickly excusing himself, he headed towards the staircase and proceeded to get everyone's attention.

"Everyone," he said calmly. Even though he didn't say it particularly loud, the room was quiet in moments, he was the kind of man people listened to. "Everyone, I would like to take a moment of your time please, to introduce to you the reason of this gathering tonight." Suddenly everyone looked up and gasped, me being among them.

Coming down the stairs, was a beautiful young lady. She had beautiful, black, green-tinted hair put up in an incredibly intricate bun with a few graceful locks loose to frame her pixie-like face. She was wearing a strapless, floor-length silk dress that gradated from white near the bosom to a purple so deep as to be almost black near the bottom after fanning out at the knees. Her feet couldn't be seen. At her throat was a necklace, a deep amber color that brought out her eyes, a pair of matching earrings were at her ears. Her lips were bright red and her cheeks a rosy pink. She looked so incredibly beautiful that, at first, I didn't recognize her.

When she got to the bottom of the stairs, Nanjiroh took her hand and turned to the crowd who was still looking at the stunning young lady that had just appeared before them. "I would like to introduce you all to my daughter, Echizen Ryoma."

_That's Ryoma?_ I thought, not believing my ears, or my eyes.

Smiling sweetly, she said in an elegant voice, "It's nice to meet you all. I hope you are all enjoying yourselves and I look forward to getting to know you all."

By the time she was done, I could tell that most of the people in the room, if not all, were completely captivated by her and that she would fit in very well with them all.

**Ryoma**

I slowly went around talking to everybody, getting to know them all.

"So you are the new young miss Echizen," said a man's voice from behind me.

I turned around and said, "Yes, that would be me, and might I inquire as to who you are?"

The man, who looked to be in his thirties, chuckled and said, "Why, of course, my dear. My name is Atobe Keiji, nice to meet you."

Smiling politely, I said, "Nice to meet you, Keiji-sama"

With an unreadable look on his face, he said in a light voice, "My, what a charming girl you are, I can see why Keigo likes you so much."

Blushing bright red, I said, "I'm sorry, but who might Keigo be?"

Chuckling again, he turned and said, "Why don't you come say hello, Keigo?"

I looked behind him and saw a young man come forward. He had oddly colored hair that was somewhere between a dark grey and purple. He had an extremely handsome face and a beauty mark on his face underneath his right eye. He was wearing a white tuxedo with a black tie.

"This is my son, Atobe Keigo," said Keiji.

"Nice to meet you," said Keigo in a cultured voice.

Blushing a bit, I said, "It's nice to meet you too, Keigo-sama."

Waving his hand, he said, "Just call me Keigo."

Shaking my head, I said politely, "Oh, no I couldn't. We've only just met."

"Then how would you like to hang out together some time?" he said. "Then it wouldn't be a problem for you to call me Keigo, right?"

Smiling, I said, "I'd like that. But I'll only call you Keigo on one condition."

"Oh?" he said with a questioning look on his face. "And what would that be?"

"You'll have to call me Ryoma."

Laughing lightly, he said, "Then it looks like we have a deal, Ryoma."

Laughing along with him, I said, "It seems we do, Keigo."

It seemed he was about to say something more but was interrupted by some women who wanted to talk to me. Apologizing and excusing myself, I said goodbye and turned to the women who were requesting my attention, my heart still beating a bit.

**Keigo**

Ever since I was a kid, I had gotten everything I had wanted. Food, clothes, you name it, I had it, but, I would have given it all away for another chance to talk to her. She was different from all those other girls, who I could easily get, anytime I wanted. Instead of fawning all over me, she had joked and laughed with me and had treated me like anyone else. Normally, this would have pissed me off, but coming from her, it was incredibly charming. She was smart, clever, and beautiful, the perfect girl, and I was going to get her, one way or another.

As I stood there, watching her talk with the people who had interrupted us, my father came up to me. "She's quite the girl, isn't she?"

I was about to agree with him, but suddenly remembered what he had done earlier.

Turning on him, I said, "What the hell were you thinking earlier? Why the hell did you tell her that I liked her?"

Looking confused, he said, "But I thought you did like her!"

That's not the point!" I said, exasperated.

"So you do like her!"

"Of course I do!"

"Then what's the problem?"

"You shouldn't have told her I liked her! You made me look like a total idiot!"

Smiling knowingly, he said, "But then you wouldn't have gotten the chance to talk to her."

This silenced me, because I knew he was right. Taking my silence as an admittance of defeat, he said, "I approve of her, she's a lot better than all those other girls you're usually with."

"She sure is," I said. "And I'm going to make her mine!"  
_

SkyGem: Well, this chapter was mainly focused on Ryoma and Atobe, but in the next one will be the embarrassments, so stay tuned! Also, tell me what you thought of this chapter, I particularly liked it.


	9. The Taste of Revenge

**Ryoma**

"So, Ryoma-chan, where have you been living until now for us not to have heard of you?" asked one of the ladies I had been talking to.

Looking at her, I thought that it was time to start with the ruining of reputations. "Well," I said in a meek voice. "Until now, I've lived with my mother and two older sisters in a house not far from here, and the reason you haven't heard of me before is because we had no idea who my father was until I bumped into Ryoga-nii-san over in Japan."

"I see. You must have been happy when you finally met Nanjiroh-sama."

Smiling, but still in a meek voice, I said, "Of course I was happy! It was so nice to finally have someone to actually notice me, and who I could actually talk to when I needed help with schoolwork, or other such stuff."

"Oh?" asked the lady. "What about your mother?"

"Well," I said, pausing a bit, "My mother was always too busy shopping or watching television to bother much with me, and my sisters were always out with their friends or boyfriends."

"Oh! That's just terrible! They put television and friends above you?"

"Well, it's not their fault!" I said, pretending to defend them. "I mean, I'm not that important, not enough for them to have to go out of their way to pay any attention to me!"

"Oh, my dear, don't say that! Do you have any idea how many people would die to have such a charming daughter as you? I say, Nanjiroh-sama is quite a lucky man!"

Smiling, I said in a mock shy voice, "Oh, do you really think so? Thank you so much!"

"No problem, my dear."

Finally, I decided to make my escape. "I'm really sorry, madams, but I will have to excuse myself now. There are many other people I must greet."

"Oh, that's fine my dear. I hope to talk to you again."

"Farewell," I said, turning around.

**Ryoga**

While talking to some friends of my fathers, I saw that Ryoma had finished talking to the wives and called her over.

"Yes, aniki?" she said politely.

"Ryoma," I said, "I'd like to introduce you some of my friends." I introduced them all, and before I knew what was happening, a conversation about tennis had somehow come about.

"So, young Ryoma, do you play tennis?"

I looked at her and saw that she had a strange look on her face, and knew immediately what was going to happen next.

"Well," she said. "I never used to play before, but aniki is currently teaching me how."

"Oh? Did you just learn about tennis? Or were you just not interested in it before?"

"Actually, I absolutely used to love tennis, and only love it more now. But, you see, my mother never really found it necessary to buy me a racket and pay for tennis lessons for me because she used up all her money on my sisters. She would always buy them the newest racket, or the most fashionable tennis clothes, and she even paid for them to be taught by a professional tennis player."

"What? And she couldn't bother to pay for you to learn tennis? What kind of a mother is that?"

"Oh, please don't blame her!" said Ryoma, surprising me in how good an actor she was. "Anyways, I'm happy now, I have aniki and otou-san to take care of me."

She smiled, and I turned to look at the men, and they unreadable looks on their faces and I knew she had accomplished what she had set out to do.

Finally, I thought it was my turn to step in. I put my arms around Ryoma and said, "That's right, men. We'll take care of Ryoma, so you don't need to do anything to Linn."

They perked up at this. "Linn?" asked one of them.

"That's right," I said. "Lee Cheung Linn, Ryoma's mother. You know, the one in the black dress, with the long hair."

"I see, but who are those two with her? I don't think I recognize them."

"Those would be my sisters, LeTing and JiaYu," said Ryoma, catching on to my plan.

Their faces changed as soon as I said this, and I knew that they were all planning something. I smiled, _Mission accomplished_, I thought.

After this, our conversation went to many other topics, and we kept talking until the music came on and it was time to dance.

**JiaYu**

I was talking to LeTing when, suddenly, I felt as if someone was looking at me, but when I turned to see who it was, there was no one. As the night went on, I kept on feeling stares, but whenever I turned to look, there would be no one. This kept on until the music started and a dance floor was cleared.

I was watching from a corner, when a handsome young man approached me.

"Would milady honor me with a dance?" he asked, holding his hand out.

Taking his hand, I said, "Sure."

He looked at me oddly, but continued to lead me towards the dance floor. When we got to the dance floor, I suddenly realized something, I didn't know how to waltz! Hoping I wouldn't do too bad, I placed my hand in his and the other on his shoulder, while his went around my waist. During the entire thing, I was too busy staring at his beautiful face so I, unfortunately, kept stepping on his toes.

"So," he said, in a tight voice as I once again stepped on his toes, "What is your name, may I ask? I don't think I've seen you around before."

"Oh, you wouldn't have seen me before. My family isn't very rich," I said.

Looking confused, he said, "Then how do you know Nanjiroh-sama?"

"I'm Ryoma's older sister," I said.

Immediately, I could see a change in him. His movements became stiff, his face seemed to close, and as soon as the dance finished, he quickly excused himself and disappeared. Confused, I went over to LeTing and asked, "Did you see that?"

Nodding, she said, "Seems like someone's been spreading rumors about us. Nobody will even approach us."

My eyes widened, so this was why we had been invited.

Suddenly, I saw my mother coming towards us. When she reached us, she said, "Come, girls. We have to go."

"Yes, mother!" we replied.

We were almost at the door, when we were stopped by Nanjiroh.

"What's wrong, ladies?"

In a stiff voice, Linn said, "Oh, it's nothing, we just have to leave."

Putting on an upset face, he said, "Oh? Did I offend you in some way?"

"No, no. We just really must leave, the girls are really tired. Now, if you'll excuse us," she said.

Smiling, he said, "Well, if that's what you want. I hope to see you again soon." Although, his tone said differently. It had changed from friendly, to threatening, and I got the message clear as day. It said, _If you ever come near my daughter again, you'll be in jail before you know what hit you._ Gulping, I followed my mother and sister out the door.

**Ryoma**

I was still talking to my brother and the other men, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw Keigo standing there, his hand offered to me.

"Care to dance, my lady?" he asked.

I turned, excused my self from the men, then accepted Keigo's offered hand. He led our way to the dance floor, and soon we were twirling along with the other couples. At first, I was a bit nervous, and incredibly distracted. His left hand around my right, and his right hand around my waist made me blush furiously. My heart was thumping wildly due to his closeness, but, eventually, I got swept up in the dance, thinking only of the music, and of course, the man with whom I was dancing. I didn't notice until the music dwindled away and the loud applause was heard that we were the only couple left on the dance floor. All the other couples had, apparently, cleared off in favor of watching us dance. As the applause quieted down and the music started up again, the dance floor was once again full of dancing couples, and Keigo lead me to a chair up against the wall for a rest.

As we sat down, he said, "You're a wonderful dancer."

Smiling at him, I said, "So are you."

A slight blush tinged his cheeks, and I giggled. "So," he said, changing the subject. "What school do you go to?"

"Seishun Gakuen Koto Gakkou," I said.

Looking surprised, he said, "Really? Then that means our schools are rivals."

"Oh? How so?"

"I go to Hyoutei Gakuen Koto Gakkou."

This caught my attention. "My sempai-tachi were talking about Hyoutei a few days ago!" I told him.

He nodded, "Hyoutei and Seishun are rivals in everything sports related."

From then until everyone left, Keigo and I talked about many things, childhood, school, I even invited him over to play tennis sometime. And, just before he left, he took my hand and kissed it, saying, "I can't wait to see you again, my lady."  
_

SkyGem: Well, that's chapter 9 out. I hope you guys liked it and I'm sorry if it didn't meet your expectations but, there's nothing that can be done about it now. Please review, and the next chapter will most likely be out tomorrow.


	10. I Hate Him

**Ryoma**

When I woke up the next day, it was already noon and I was reluctant to get out of my comfortable bed, but, eventually, my grumbling stomach got the best of me. I crawled out, and, still in my pajamas, shuffled downstairs to the kitchen. When I got there, Ryoga was also eating his breakfast, and he offered me a couple of blueberry pancakes, which I gratefully accepted.

While we were eating, Ryoga suddenly said, "I saw you talking to Atobe."

"Which Atobe? Keiji or Keigo?"

"Keigo."

"Yeah, what about it?"

"I don't like that guy."

Shocked, I said, "Why not? He's nice."

"Nice? Yeah right! He's a playboy! And I don't want you going anywhere near him!"

"You're not the boss of me! I can do anything I want!" I yelled.

"I am so the boss of you! I'm your older brother and when dad isn't here, you have to listen to me!" he yelled back.

"Oh yeah? Well, if this is what you're gonna be like, I wish I hadn't even met you!" I shouted, then instantly regretted my words. Slapping my hand over my mouth, I ran upstairs, crying. When I got to my room, I slammed the door and threw myself on the bed. I stayed like that for a while, crying.

Suddenly, I heard a knock on the door and my brother said, "Ryoma, start packing. We have to leave for Japan in an hour." Then footsteps, signaling that he had left. I immediately got up and started packing. In the next hour, we left for the airport. The trip was very quiet, seeing as Ryoga and I were still mad at each other. As soon as we got to the airport in Tokyo, I retrieved my luggage and found a taxi to take me back to the girls dorms, because there was no way I was going back there. Ryoga didn't try to stop me from leaving, and this hurt me the most. Did he not love me anymore?

When I arrived at my room, Sakuno was there, and she greeted me warmly. Then, she saw my expression and asked, "What's wrong, Ryoma-chan?"

Slowly, I explained everything that had happened earlier. She listened carefully, then said, "You shouldn't have said that. He was only trying to look out for you."

"I know! I want to say sorry, but he said all that mean stuff about Keigo!"

"That still doesn't make it okay for you to say that. You should apologize to him as soon as possible, then, when you've made up, you two can come up with a compromise."

Nodding my head, I said, "You're right, I'll apologize to him tomorrow."

"Good, now, why don't we go out for some ice cream?"

Smiling and nodding my head, I said, "That sounds nice, let me just fix my make up."

Ten minutes later, I was done and we were ready to set out. We went to the mall first, to do some window shopping, which was really fun, though I didn't really buy anything. After that, we went to the park for ice cream, and sat down on a bench under one of the many trees. We talked about many things. I asked her what she did this summer; turns out she went to stay with her cousins for a week. When she asked me what I had done, I told her about tennis, my father, my sisters, the party, but mostly, I talked about Keigo.

"You seem to really like this guy," said Sakuno as we walked to the restroom.

"Of course I like him. He's sweet, kind, and totally gorgeous," I replied.

She looked as if she were about to say something more when, suddenly, I saw something that froze me to the spot.

"Ryoma-chan?" she asked. Turning to follow my gaze, she saw what I saw, and looked confused. To her, it was just another handsome guy, kissing his girlfriend, but, to me, it was a shattering of dreams. Why? Because, that 'handsome guy' was in fact Keigo. He looked up, and our eyes met. His face seemed to freeze for a second, then he opened his mouth to say something. But, before he could say a word, I turned and ran away, tears spilling over onto my cheeks. I ran and ran, trying to get rid of the pain. When I finally stopped running, I was at the spot where I had first bumped into Ryoga, which was thankfully deserted right now. I fell to the ground and didn't get back up. I sat there crying for what seemed like hours, then, when I finally couldn't stand the loneliness anymore, I took out my cell phone, and called the one person I wanted to talk to right now.

**Ryoga**

I had been trying to get up the nerve to call Ryoma and apologize to her, when suddenly my phone rang. I looked at the caller ID and saw that it was her. Relieved, I picked up the phone, ready to apologize, when I heard a sob on the other end. Alarmed, I said, "Ryoma? What's wrong?"

"Onii-chan…" she sobbed.

"Where are you right now? I'll come get you."

"I'm on XX street."

"Okay, just stay there. I'll come get you."

"O-okay," she said, then hung up.

I hung up and ran out the door, grabbing my keys on the way out. I got into the car and sped to where Ryoma was. When I got there, I saw Ryoma huddled on the ground, shaking.

"Ryoma…."

When she heard my voice, she looked up. Immediately, she got up, and ran towards me, tackling me in a hug, sobbing into my shirt.

"I'm sorry I didn't listen to you, onii-chan! You were right, he's a no-good, lying, playboy! I hate him!"

Patting her on the back to calm her down, I said, "Hush, now. It's okay."

I stayed like that for a while, letting her cry all she wanted, then, suddenly, I heard a noise and looked up. I saw a girl with long, braided pigtails was walking towards us. Judging from the worried look on her face, she was probably one of Ryoma's friends. Seeing as Ryoma wasn't in any condition to talk, I spoke for her.

"Are you one of Ryoma's friends?"

Slowly, she nodded her head.

"Nice to meet you, I'm Ryoga, her older brother."

Realization dawned and she bowed. "Nice to meet you, Echizen-san. I'm her roommate, Ryuuzaki Sakuno."

"Well, Sakuno-chan, Ryoma's fine now, and she's gonna be sleeping at our house, so you can go home."

Still looking a bit worried, she bowed again and said, "Thank you, I'll be going now."

After she had left, I led Ryoma to the car at helped her into the passenger seat, and we were soon on our way home.  
_

SkyGem: Well, that's chapter ten. What did you guys think? Please review. Also, in the next chapter, the regulars will be making their first appearance since chapter 3! And, as I'm sure you've guessed, the next chapter will be out tomorrow…probably. Well, goodbye and see you next time! ^_^


	11. Eriko and Karupin

**Ryoma**

When I woke up, at first, I had no idea where I was, then, I looked at my alarm clock. It read 6:30. My eyes widened, and I hopped out of bed. I quickly dressed in a pair of jeans and t-shirt and rushed downstairs, grabbing a hair tie on the way.

As I ran past the kitchen, my brother stopped me and asked, "Ryoma? Where are you going?"

Looking at him, I quickly said, "I'm late for tennis practice! I have to leave!"

"I'll drive you," he offered, quickly throwing his shoes on.

As we got into the car, he handed me an apple and said, "Eat it."

I took it and polished it off. Seeing how hungry I was, he gave me some money to buy something to eat later. Taking it appreciatively, I said, "Thank you."

After a few minutes of silence, I said, "Onii-chan, I-I'm sorry for what-"

"It's okay," he said, smiling down at me. "All siblings have arguments, right? And thanks to that one, we've just gotten that much closer."

"Thanks, Ryoga."

"No problem," he said, stopping the car as we reached Seigaku. Kissing my forehead, he said, "Just call me when practice is done, I'll come pick you up."

"Thank you, onii-chan. Bye!"

"Bye!" he called as I stepped out of the car.

I turned and ran to the courts. Thanks to onii-chan's insane driving, I was no longer late.

"Ochibi-chaaaan!" I heard a familiar voice call. I turned around just as a certain redhead tackled me.

Laughing, I said, "It's good to see you too, Eiji-sempai."

Hearing Eiji's shout, everyone came to see what was going on. "Ryoma! You're back!" said Momo as he, too, came over to hug me.

"That's right. We returned yesterday."

"Where were you, by the way?"

"Hehe, I went to Taiwan!"

"Taiwan? What were you doing there?"

"Family issues."

He looked as if he were about to say more, but then, Tezuka came over and said, "What's going on here?"

"N-nothing, buchou. Well, Ryoma-chan, we have to go," said Momo.

After they were gone, he turned to me, and said, "Welcome back."

"Good to be back, sempai."

Nodding, he turned around , and went back to practice while I turned towards the club room to get started on my duties.  
_

Later, when practice was finished, everyone was going out for lunch and invited me to come along.

"I'm sorry, but I can't."

"Why not?" asked Eiji, pouting.

At that moment, a car pulled up and out stepped Ryoga.

"Yo, Ryoma, you'll never guess what! I…" he trailed off as he noticed Eiji and the rest of the regulars. Turning to them, he said, "Nice to meet you all. I'm Echizen Ryoga, Ryoma's aniki."

At this, everyone froze, shocked, then looked to me.

"Aniki?" asked Momo.

Nodding, I said, "Yup! And I'm no longer Lee Ryoma! As of two days ago, I'm Echizen Ryoma!"

"E-Echizen?"

"Uh-huh!"

Finally, not being able to stand it anymore, Ryoga turned to me and said, "Anyways, chibisuke! Like I was saying before, you'll never guess what happened!"

Sighing, I said, "What is it?"

"Well, dad just came back from his two day business trip and he brought presents!"

I perked up at this, knowing dad, he must have brought something over the top. "What did he bring?"

"It's at home," he said. "Come on, before it gets too bored and starts making trouble." And with that, he dragged me into the car and we were gone before I could even say goodbye to me sempai-tachi.

As Ryoga drove down the road, still as hyperactive as before, I said, "That wasn't very nice, you know. You could have at least let me say goodbye to them."

"I'm sorry, but once you see your present, you'll see why I was so excited," he said as he pulled into the driveway of our huge home. "Come on, come on!"

"Okay, I'm coming," I said as I followed him in. He led me to the living room, where there was a basket with a blanket in it. Curious, I went up to the basket and looked in. When I saw what was in there, I almost shrieked with delight. In the basket were two kittens, curled up in tight little balls, asleep.

They were absolutely adorable! They both had snow white fur with patches of dark brown on their muzzles, ears, paws, and the tips of their tails. I saw one of them twitch, then wake up. It looked at me with huge, blue eyes that I immediately fell in love with. I held out my hands and it came towards me, allowing me to pick it up.

"Looks like Karupin has taken a liking to you," said Ryoga. "Then, I guess Eriko will be mine."

"Wait, you mean she's mine?" I asked, excited.

"Of course, I can't take care of both of them, you know."

Unable to contain my excitement, I said, "Thank you, thank you, thank you! I absolutely love her!"

Looking smug, he said, "I knew you would."

We then spent the next hour bringing all the kittens' necessities into our rooms. Such things as litter box, sleeping basket, toys, etc. After that, we spent some quality 'bonding' time with the newest members of our family. 'Bonding' as in, playing tug of war, and letting them climb on top of us.  
_

SkyGem: So, here's the next chapter. I'm sorry, it's a little short and also a little later than usual, but my brother needed to use my computer and he took a little too long. Anyways, as usual the next chapter will be out tomorrow. Review! Review! Review!

And in case any of you were wondering how much of Ryoma's summer break was left, it's 2 and a half weeks.


	12. Misunderstanding

SkyGem: Hey guys! Thanks so much to everyone who reviewed! You guys are awesome and I hope you like this next chapter!  
_

**Ryoma**

"Ryoma, wake up!"

"Nnngh, just five more minute, nii-chan," I replied, turning over.

"Well, fine, but you'll be late for the tournament."

As soon as I heard this, I shot up and said, "I'm up, I'm up!"

At this, he burst out laughing and I glared at him. Hopping out of bed, I put on a pair of faded blue jeans, and a cute, greenish tank top. My long, black hair was in a high ponytail, and I decided to curl the bottom a bit, just for fun.

When I walked out of my bedroom, I saw onii-chan waiting for me by the front door. "Jeez!" he said, "Why do girls always take so long to get dressed?"

Putting on an upset face, I said, "What? I don't look good?"

Immediately, he looked panicked and I almost laughed. "No, no. You look gorgeous."

Finally, I couldn't hold it in anymore and laughed. "It's okay, I was just joking. Now, come on! Let's go!"

**Momo**

We had just registered and were waiting for Ryoma when her brother's car pulled up. They got out of the car and came towards us. As soon as I saw Ryoma, I blushed. She looked beautiful, even in a pair of jeans and a tank top. _Wait, what am I blushing for? She's my friend!_

"Hey!" she called out, walking towards us.

Smiling, I said, "Yo! You're almost late."

"Yeah, key word being 'almost.'" she said mischievously.

Shaking my head, I said, "Whatever."

She smiled and turned to give her brother a kiss on the cheek. "Bye. Call me if you need a ride." Then, turning to us, he said, "You guys better not let anything happen to her," then turned around and walked away.

Hearing Ryoma giggle, I turned to her and she said, "He can be so overprotective at times. Now let's go! Or do you want to be disqualified for being late?"

At this, we turned and headed to the courts.

**Ryoma**

The guys had just finished their games and Seigaku had won with 5 wins and no losses. I was at the back of the group, talking with Momo when, suddenly, everyone stopped. Looking forward, I saw the last person I wanted to see right now. Standing in front of his team, having a standoff with Tezuka, was Atobe Keigo.

I immediately jumped behind Momo.

"Wha-? Ryoma? What's wrong?"

Looking up at him, I said in a quiet voice, "Shh! Don't let him see me!"

"Who? Atobe?" asked Momo, loudly, too loudly unfortunately.

Hearing him, Keigo turned to him and said, "What do you want peasant?"

"Nothing," said Momo, trying not to give me away.

Atobe didn't fall for it. "Who's that behind you?"

Knowing that I couldn't hide anymore, I peeked out from behind Momo.

He immediately froze. "R-Ryoma? W-what are you doing here?"

Getting mad, I said, "I'm here with my team, not that it's any of your business."

Slowly coming towards me, he said, "Ryoma, about the other day-"

I backed away, saying, "I don't want to hear your excuses Keigo. Just get the hell away from me!" By the end of the sentence, I was nearly crying.

Everyone noticed this and moved to protect me.

"B-but Ryoma, you don't understand. It's not what you think!"

"Look, I don't know what's going on with you two, but she said she doesn't want to talk to you, so get the hell out of here!" shouted Momo.

"Oh? And what if I don't?" asked Atobe.

Immediately, Kaido started hissing, Taka, for once, actually frowned at them, looking mad, and Inui pushed his glasses up. Meanwhile, Oishi and Eiji had determined looks on their faces, and Tezuka shot Atobe a death glare. Fujii, though, opened his eyes, staring at them with ice cold cerulean eyes. Atobe shivered but continued on, looking determined. He started walking forwards and I started backing away, "Get the hell away from me, Keigo!" I yelled.

I turned away and ran. I didn't get far before I bumped into something soft. Looking up, I saw to my intense relief that it was Ryoga.

"Ryoma?" he asked. "What's wrong?"

I looked up at him with frightened eyes and turned to look back.

He followed my gaze and saw what I saw. Growling, he went up to Keigo, who had frozen as soon as he saw Ryoga, and said, "What the hell are you doing to my sister?"

"Nothing! I just wanted to talk to her and she ran away."

Looking as if he were about to explode, Ryoga said, "Talk to her? And what thinks you have the right to talk to her?"

Looking shocked, Atobe opened his mouth to talk, but Ryoga beat him to it. "I don't care what you have to say to her. Just stay the hell away from my little sister!" Ryoga nearly screamed.

Looking frustrated, Atobe said, "Fine! I'll leave, but you haven't seen the last of me. I will prove myself innocent.!"

He walked away and I was finally able to relax a bit. Suddenly, a thought came to me. I looked up at my brother and asked, "What are you doing here anyway?"

"I came to bring you something you forgot at home," he said, dangling my cell phone in front of my face.

"Oh! I didn't realize I had forgotten it!" I said, taking it from him.

"So," said Momo, coming up to us. "What was that all about?"

Sighing, I began to explain.

**Atobe**

I walked away, disappointed. Why wouldn't she listen to what I have to say? It wasn't my fault Miu had kissed me!

_Flashback_

"_Keeiiigoooooo!" called a voice and I groaned inwardly._

_Sighing, I turned around to face my ex. "What do you want, Hikawa-san?"_

"_Oh, don't be like that Kei-chan!"_

_Getting annoyed, I said, "Hikawa-san, I we are no longer going out, so would appreciate it if you didn't call me by my given name."_

_Looking annoyed, she said, "But Kei-chaaaan! Why not? I still like you, why won't you go out with me anymore?"_

"_Because I already have someone else!"_

_I was about to turn around when suddenly she grabbed me and kissed me. I struggled to get away, and when she finally let me go, I looked up to see someone staring at me. That someone was Ryoma. My face froze and I was about to call out when, suddenly, she turned and ran away. I made to run after her, but Miu stopped me, and when I next looked up, she was gone._

_Frustrated, I turned to look at Miu and said, "Now look what you've done! Thanks to you, Ryoma's mad at me now! Thanks a lot!"_

_Turning around, I walked away, frustrated._

_End Flashback_

Why did I always have to attract such weird girls? Sighing in frustration, I tried to tune out what Gakuto was chattering about, trying to think of a way to get Ryoma to at least hear me out.  
_

SkyGem: Well that's it. Did you like it? Review and tell me what you thought!


	13. Kill Me Inside

**Tezuka**

During the time that I had known Ryoma, I had come to care for her a great deal, and as I listened to her explain what had been going on between her and Atobe, something kept bothering me. As the others expressed their dislike of Atobe after Ryoma had finished her story, I stayed quiet.

When everyone had finished talking, I claimed her attention and said, "Ryoma, are you sure you aren't being too hasty about this?"

Looking confused, she said, "What do you mean, sempai?"

I elaborated, "Well, have you ever tried to listen to what Atobe was trying to say?" Her face darkened a bit, and I continued. "I know that Atobe may come across as a kind of jerk, but I've yet to see him do something so dishonest. I know that he cares for, and respects deeply, his teammates, and, there's also the factor of his looks."

"His looks?" she asked, confused.

"That's right. Atobe has, in fact, a lot of female admirers and some of them aren't as shy as others of making their feelings known. Do you remember what this girl looked like? The one that he was supposedly kissing?"

She thought for a while, then said, "She was a bit taller than me and had short, red-orange hair."

Suddenly, it all made sense. I nodded, and said to her, "Then that must have been Hikawa Miu."

"Who?"

"Hikawa Miu. She dated Atobe for a while, but they broke up a few weeks ago. Hikawa-san is the kind of girl who doesn't like to be ignored and usually gets her way. I wouldn't be surprised if she kissed Atobe against his will."

"R-really?" asked Ryoma, looking a bit dazed.

"Really. I think you should at least hear him out."

As I finished talking, she got a thoughtful look on her face. She turned to look at her brother, as if for permission, and, after a long while, he finally nodded. Looking a bit uncertain, she turned to me and said, "Arigato, sempai," then turned and left. I watched her go, and hoped she could make up with Atobe. I knew, by instinct, that he would take good care of her and that he was the right one for her. I hoped that they would be happy together, even if it would kill me inside.

**Atobe**

I had just finished an easy match and was sitting alone on a bench, when suddenly, a can of juice was thrust into my face. I looked up, expecting to see one of the many annoying fangirls I had acquired over the years, and was surprised to see Ryoma instead.

"R-Ryoma?"

She smiled a tiny, unsure smile, and said, "Hey, Keigo."

Relief bubbled up in me and I was about to say something but she beat me to it. "Look, Keigo," she said, "I'm really sorry for the way I was acting before. You see, I was just really hurt when I saw you with that girl the other day, but Tezuka-sempai told me that I was being unfair and that I should at least give you a chance. So, will you tell me what happened that day two weeks ago?"

Relieved, I said, "Gladly," and began to explain about how Miu had ambushed me that day in the park. As I explained, her expression became understanding, and she nodded silently. We stayed like that for a while, in silence, but finally, I couldn't hold it in anymore, and said, "So am I forgiven?"

Looking surprised, she said, "Of course. In fact, I should be the one apologizing."

I smiled. That was another thing I liked about her, none of the other girls I had dated in the past would ever have admitted that they were wrong. We sat in silence again for a while, and I was the one to break it again because I suddenly remembered something she had said earlier. I turned to her and said, "By the way, why were you upset when you saw Hikawa kissing me?"

At this, she turned an adorable shade of pink and said in a halting voice, "W-well, y-you see, I-" She stopped, closed her eyes, then quickly said, "The truth is, ever since that time we danced together, I've really, really liked you, and was wondering if you would go out with me?"

When I heard this, I felt a joy so immense that I couldn't reply.

She looked up when I didn't respond, then said, "I-I knew it, y-you hate me now, don't you?" Sniffling, she looked down again, this time with tears in her eyes.

Shaking my head, I put my hands on either side of her face and made her look at me. "Ryoma, you couldn't be more wrong," I said, wiping the tears away gently.

Surprised, her eyes shot up to look into mine, and stayed there. "W-what do you mean?" she asked.

By way of answer, I leaned down, and brought my lips to hers. For a moment, she seemed surprised, then she kissed me back. Her arms went around my neck and the kiss became more passionate, but, eventually, we had to come back up for air.

"Is that enough of an answer for you?" I asked her, smiling mischievously.

"Yes," she said quietly, then hid her face in my chest.

"Ryoma? What's wrong?"

Not looking up, she said into my chest, "I'm too embarrassed to look up."

Laughing lightly, I tipped her head up and said, "Well, we'll just have to practice enough so that you won't get embarrassed every time I kiss you." I then pulled her into my lap, and we resumed our make-out session.  
_

SkyGem: Chapter 13 is finally done! How did you like it? I know, I totally fail at love scenes, but, so far, I think this is one of my favorite chapters in this fic. What about you guys? Please review, and tell me what you thought. Anyways, as usual, the next chapter will be up tomorrow. Stay tuned, and I hope to see you again, but until then, ciao! ^_^


	14. First Date

**Ryoma**

I don't know how long it had been, but, we eventually broke apart due to the ringing of my phone.

Picking it up, I said, "Hello?"

"Ryoma, it's been half an hour already. Where are you?"

Smiling, I said, "Spending some quality time with my new boyfriend. What do you want?"

"I just wanted to let you know I'm leaving. Are you coming?" he asked.

I thought for a while, then said, "Nah, I think I'll stay here."

"Okay then, bye."

"Bye," I said as I hung up.

Looking at me questioningly, he said, "Who was that?"

"Onii-chan."

"What did he want?"

"Nothing, just letting me know that he's leaving."

"I see. Well, I don't have anymore games today, wanna get something to eat?"

"Hmm, that sounds good, but first I have to let my sempai-tachi know."

Pouting, he said, "Do you have to?"

Laughing, I said, "Yes, now let's go!"

**Momo**

"I wonder where Ryoma is?" I asked no one in particular.

"Who knows?" said Eiji. "But, judging from the look on Ryoga's face, she's probably with Keigo."

"Yeah…" I said, not wanting to believe it. Suddenly, I heard someone calling my name. I turned around and saw Ryoma, running towards us. When I saw her, I felt incredibly happy, but then, I saw Atobe behind her and the happiness instantly disappeared.

Now that I looked, it was obvious that they were together. It was obvious in the way Ryoma was holding his hand, dragging him towards us, also in the way he looked at her, and the general feeling between them.

"So," she asked breathlessly as they came to a stop in front of us. "Did you guys win again?"

Trying to smile, I said, "Of course!"

"That's great!" she said, eyes shining. "So, do you guys have anymore games today?"

I shook my head 'no,' and she said, "Great! Then you wanna come have lunch with Keigo and me?"

Lunch with the newly formed couple while they were all romantic and lovey-dovey? I couldn't think of anything worse, and was luckily saved by Atobe saying, "Whaaaat? Whyyyyy? I thought it was only going to be us."

Somehow, they way his arms immediately went around her neck as he whined childishly to her struck me as funny and it almost made me laugh.

Turning to him, she said, "Keigo! Where are your manners? Be polite!"

She was about to say something else when I interrupted her, saying, "It's okay, Ryoma-chan. We wouldn't want to intrude on your first date."

Her face turned bright red and, this time, I really did laugh. I was slowly starting to accept that we would never be more than friends and acknowledging this made me feel a whole lot better.

"You should listen to him, Ryoma," said Atobe. "He knows what he's talking about," he still sounded incredibly childish, and I couldn't help but marvel about how different he was from before he met Ryoma.

Looking a bit hesitant, she finally said, "Okay then. Bye guys!" she waved, and the next moment, they were walking away, hand-in-hand, the perfect image of a happy couple.

**Ryoma**

It had already been about a week since the tournament, but, that was the last thing on my mind. Right now, I had way too many other stuff on my mind. What kinds of other stuff? Well, right now, I was surrounded by a bunch of annoying girls from the popular crowd. Why? Because, when everyone got back to school, they found out that my last name had changed and now these people were trying to get close to me because of either my 'hot' older brother, or because of my dad's money. I was starting to get really annoyed, but no matter what I said, they just wouldn't leave me alone, so, I just decided to ignore them. It worked, and, in about an hours time, the last of them were finally gone, muttering something about a "snobby rich kid."

Finally free from the unwanted entourage, I went to go look for Tomoka and Sakuno.

"Ne, Ryoma-chan! Over here!"

Turning around, I saw them sitting underneath a tree and went to go greet them. "Hey guys!"

As I sat down and took out my lunch, Tomoka started talking. "I can't believe all those people from before. It's disgusting how they're trying to take advantage of you. So, anyways, Ryoma-chan, how was your summer break?"

I smiled and said to her, "I've got a new boyfriend!"

"No way! Who is it?" asked Tomoka excitedly.

I smiled and said, "It's Atobe Keigo!"

"No way! Really? Ohmigod! That's so awesome!"

"I know, right?"

From there, we talked about many things and soon, we fell back into the routine we had before the break. The days slowly went by and, before I knew it, it was the last week of September and I was worrying about what I was going to get Keigo for his birthday, which was in two weeks.

When I asked him about it once, he said, "One night with you."

I rolled my eyes and said, "I know that much. I meant a physical present."

At this, he said, "I don't want anything else."

"Come on, Keigo! You have to choose something!"

"Fine," he said. "I want…"  
_

SkyGem: Chapter 14 done! For the present, what do you guys want Keigo to ask for? Post your suggestions with your reviews, and make sure they're outrageous, but not too outrageous. I'll choose the one I like most, but, hurry up, 'cause, as usual, I'll be updating tomorrow, so that means there's no a lot of time so review, review, review! Well, until next time! ^_^


	15. The Bahamas

SkyGem: Hey guys! Thank you all for reviewing, and, I've decided to use a bit of everyone's ideas. Read to find out what I mean. Also, in regard to loveless0097's question, the truth is, I have the general story mapped out in my head, but I have no idea how many chapters it'll all take, probably somewhere between twenty and thirty chapters (note the probably). Now, without any further ado, on to the story!  
_

**Ryoma**

"I want you all to myself, one week, my private island in…" he paused for a while, as if to think, then said, "The Bahamas."

"What? One week? What about school?"

"Take some time off, or am I not important enough?" he asked, pouting.

Sighing, I said, "How about only Saturday and Sunday?"

"No! Tuesday to Sunday!"

Getting a little annoyed, I said, "Thursday to Sunday! Take it or leave it!"

Pouting again, he said, "Fine, if we leave right after school on Wednesday, we'll arrive at around ten in the morning the next day."

Smiling, I said, "Great, now that's settled."

Suddenly, a I let slip a giggle, and he turned to look at me questioningly. "What's so funny?" he asked.

Shaking my head, I said, "Nothing. So, what will I need to pack for our stay?"

Smiling, he said, "Well, around this time of year, it's around 30 degrees (Celsius) there, so you shouldn't need anything that warm, only t-shirts and shorts and stuff." He stopped, then said, "Oh, and don't forget the bikini!"

Blushing a bright pink, I said, "You're such a pervert, Keigo!"

Chuckling, he pulled me close and said, "Maybe so, but you know you love me."

Rolling my eyes, I said, "My bad taste in guys amazes me to no end."

Looking a little offended, he said, "Excuse me?"

Laughing, I said, "Oh, calm down! I'm only joking."

He turned his head away, sulking. Sighing, I turned him to face me, and kissed him.

"Forgiven?" I asked cutely.

Smiling, he said, "Okay, you win."  
_

I was woken up by a gentle brushing of lips against my own. Opening my eyes, I looked up into gentle, gray eyes. "Hm?" I asked.

"We're here."

"I can't get up."

Rolling his eyes, he undid my seatbelt, and picked me up. Seconds later, we were outside, and I was blinded. I closed my eyes, but when next I opened them, I was already in a bed, with Keigo nowhere to be seen. I got up, and looked around. On the floor was my suitcase, so I opened it up and found something else to wear. Keigo wasn't joking when he said it would be hot around here. I found my favorite sundress (baby pink with spaghetti-straps), and threw it on, putting my hair in a bun at the nape of my neck. Then, I ventured outside to look for Keigo.

As I walked around, I was surprised to see how modest it was, well, modest for Keigo, it was still twice as big as a normal house. From what I could see, it had two floors and a balcony on the second floor that overlooked the ocean below. The house was colored in shades varying from white, to a pale, and very pretty, lavender. I walked around the second floor first, and, with a blush, realized that there was only one bedroom, and only one bed. Pushing the thought back, I continued to explore. There was a bathroom, a huge closet full of clothes which no doubt belonged to Keigo, and even a library with tons and tons of books. After I had finished exploring the second floor, I decided to go downstairs.

When I entered the living room, I saw Keigo lying on the couch, fast asleep. I smiled, he looked so absolutely adorable when he was asleep. Tiptoeing out, I quietly walked into the kitchen to see what was in the fridge. I found, to my surprise, that it was pretty well stocked. I smiled as I looked through the contents, finding everything I needed to bake him a homemade birthday cake, he even had icing (purple for some insane reason). I was about to turn around and go explore the library until Keigo woke up, when I felt a pair of strong arms surround my waist.

"You should have let me know you were awake."

Turning to him, I laughed slightly, and said, "But you looked so peaceful, it seemed a shame to wake you up."

Snorting, he said, "Yeah, whatever. So, what do you want to do now?"

"Hmmm, let's go swimming!"

His face brightened. "Alright!"

Rolling my eyes, I said, "Whatever, pervert. I'm going to go change."

"I'll wait for you in the water!"

**Atobe**

I was lazily floating on my back in the water when I heard a noise. I raised my head, and saw Ryoma coming towards me in a cute, green two-piece that didn't show too much skin, but complimented her figure nicely. She looked a little nervous, so I shouted to her, "Come on in, Ryoma! Or are you scared?"

Ryoma, never being one to back down from a challenge, slowly walked in, surprised at first by the warm temperature of the water. She walked confidently until she reached a place where the sea floor sloped steeply away, where she suddenly sank underwater. She came back up moments later, splashing wildly. Alarmed, I went up to her, but, just when I reached her, she suddenly stopped splashing, took a deep breath, and dove underwater. Seconds later, I felt a tugging on my feet, and was suddenly pulled underwater.

Opening my eyes, I saw Ryoma grinning evilly. Smiling back, I kicked out, making sure not to hurt her, and made her release me. Swimming upwards, I broke the surface, taking deep breaths. Seconds later, Ryoma followed, laughing hysterically.

"That wasn't funny!" I said.

"Sure it was!" she said.

Deciding to take my revenge, I dove underwater and swam towards her. When I got to her, I wrapped my arms around her midsection, and pulled her under. The shocked look on her face was incredibly hilarious, and when I resurfaced, I couldn't stop laughing. We continued playing like that a while, but eventually, we had to go inside to eat. After our meal, we just snuggled together on the couch watching a movie.

The day was fun, and I was sad to see it end. Another reason I didn't want it to end, was the problem of the sleeping arrangements. I had completely forgotten until this morning that there was only one bed in this place, and therefore, I was not prepared for this.

"So," said Ryoma with a perplexed look on her face. "Who's gonna take the bed?"

"You can take it. I'll just sleep on the sofa, or on the floor. I'll get someone to bring another bed tomorrow morning, so it's just for one night."

"No way! That would be totally unfair!"

"Then what do you suggest we do?"

At this, she got a thoughtful look on her face, then, blushing brightly, she said, "W-well, I wouldn't mind s-sharing the b-bed."

I immediately felt my face go red, and said, "Y-you don't have to force yourself, I can sleep on the floor."

"N-no, t-that would be uncomfortable for you. Please, l-lets just share it, I mean, i-it's big enough for both of us, right? A-and, like you said, it's only for o-one night."

"O-okay," I said, as she picked up her silk pajamas and rushed to the bathroom to change.

**Ryoma**

I was still blushing brightly as I got to the bathroom. Slowly changing into my pajamas, brushed my teeth, and put my long hair into a braid, then, when I was done, I stepped out. What I saw when I came out of the bathroom was so incredibly adorable that I couldn't help but giggle. Keigo was sprawled all over the bed, half-naked. Suddenly, all my self-consciousness disappeared and I went and snuggled up to him, quickly falling asleep.  
_

SkyGem: Well, that's it. How did you guys like it? As usual, please comment/review and tell me what you thought. Also, in case any of you are wondering, no, there will not be any lemon in this fic. And, one more thing: I regret to inform you that, unfortunately, chapter 16 will not be coming out until Saturday (it's Monday where I am). I'm really sorry, but, I have my health summative due on Wednesday, my Art exam is due on Thursday, and my English, and Science exams are both on Friday, so there'll be no updating until Saturday, that is, unless I update another of my stories today, or if I can get away from my studying long enough to type up the next chapter of Hidden Himesama. Again, I'm really sorry, but, there's nothing I can do about, so, until next time, adios!


	16. Presents

SkyGem: OMG! My exams are finally done! You guys have no idea how happy I am! It is so incredibly hard for me to go so long without updating, so I decided to update today instead of waiting until tomorrow! Well, now that that's out of my system, on to the story! ^_^  
_

**Ryoma**

When I finally woke up the next morning, I didn't feel like getting out of bed. My pillow was so soft and warm. Wait…warm? Pillows shouldn't be this warm! I slowly opened my eyes just as a pair of strong arms wrapped around my midsection. Looking up, I saw that my 'pillow' was in fact Keigo's bare chest. Blushing brightly, I quickly got up, at least, I tried, but, as you can guess, Keigo's a lot stronger than me, and he wouldn't let me get up.

"So you're finally awake," he said.

Looking up, I blushed as our eyes met, and said, "Um, yeah. So, will you let me off now?"

Looking amused, he said, "What, you don't like this position? I, as a matter of fact, love it."

Blushing brightly, I said, "N-no, that's not it! I-it's just that…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

Looking even more amused, he bent down, gave me a peck on the lips, and went to move away, but I didn't let him. I brought his face back to mine, and we had a looooong make-out session.

When we finally broke apart, it was because of Keigo's growling stomach. Giggling, I gave him a peck, then said, "How about I make us some breakfast?"

Still blushing a bit, he said, "Okay."

I made some scrambled eggs, French toast, and some orange juice, nothing really fancy, but Keigo seemed to really like it. After we were done, we went out to explore the island. There was a small patch of rainforest on here. It was about a hundred or two feet wide and was really cool. There weren't really any animals except for some birds and other small mammals, but it was nice.

We explored until lunch, when we went back to the house to eat. Afterwards, we went swimming for a little while and before we knew it, it was time for bed. The situation didn't seem as awkward as it had yesterday, in fact, it seemed almost normal. After I had changed, I went back into the bedroom, fully expecting Keigo to be asleep already, like yesterday. So, imagine my surprise when I saw him, still awake, waiting for me. He smiled, held his arms out, and I went to sit in his lap. This wasn't like how we usually were, the atmosphere was different. Suddenly, I felt his hand slip under my shirt, and an electric shock ran through me. _Oh. My. God. Is this what I think it is?_ Was the last thing I thought before what could possibly the most romantic night of my life.

(AN: haha, I just said there would be no lemon in my story, not that it wouldn't happen. ^_^)

**Atobe**

"Hey! Why won't you let me look?" I asked, trying to pry her hands away from my eyes.

Giggling, she said, "Because, I want it to be a surprise. Anyways, it's just a bit further. Be patient!"

Huffing a sigh, I said, "Fine."

Ever since she woke up this morning, Ryoma had been unusually chipper. We had a great breakfast together, and this morning we had gone down to the beach again, this time making sand castles, but, after lunch, she kicked me out of the kitchen, and locked herself in, ignoring my protests. Finally, just a while ago, she came out, locked the door to the kitchen, and went upstairs. I was in the process of picking the lock when she finally came down, looking absolutely gorgeous. She was wearing the pink sundress from our first day and her hair was let out and her feet bare. Smiling sweetly, she had come up to me, and placed her hands over my eyes. When I protested, she said that it was a surprise.

Now, she finally removed her hands and I saw what she had been doing all afternoon. There, on the table, was a beautifully made cake, with flowers of purple icing on it and small, purple, candy bows on the sides. Along with the cake, there were two plates and forks, and two elegant glasses of some type of red wine in them. She had also cooked a variety of other things.

Looking up at her, awed, I saw a happy expression on her face. "You did this for me?" I asked, still not quite believing what I was seeing. Sure, I had tasted food from the best chefs in the world, and had more extravagant cakes made for me, but the fact that this one was made by Ryoma made me incredibly happy.

Smiling, she said, "Of course, now sit down and dig in!"

I sat down, and we started eating. After we were done our meal, we had the cake. Putting the first bite into my mouth, I got the biggest surprise. It was absolutely delicious! The cake itself was soft and fluffy, and coupled with the icing, it was neither too sweet nor too bitter. It was a perfect balance. As I stared at her with huge eyes, she just giggled.

"I've been cooking and baking since I was five. I always use to bake the cakes back when I was still living in Taiwan, so I'm pretty good at it now."

"I see," I said, finishing my piece and taking another. By the time we were done, half of the cake was still left, so we decided to put it in the fridge for her to take home for her brother and father.

"That was delicious!" I said, as she put the dishes away. I was about to help her, when suddenly, she turned around. "Hm? Ryoma?"

Smiling, she said, "I have another present for you, Keigo."

"Another present?" I asked.

"That's right," she said, bringing out her closed fist from behind her back. She opened her hand, and, on it, was a beautiful silver pendant necklace, with our names intertwined across it. I looked at it, awed.

Looking a bit smug, she came over, and put her arms around my neck in order to put the necklace on me. When she pulled away, I looked down, and there was the pendant, hanging from my neck. Already, it felt as if it belonged there, and I couldn't be happier. Suddenly, I remembered something that I had packed just before we had left Japan. Excusing myself, I quickly ran upstairs and took it out of my bag of belongings. I returned to her and saw a look of confusion in her eyes.

Reaching towards her, I put my arms around her neck, as she had done to me, and closed the clasp on the little heart locket I had bought for her.

Looking down, her eyes widened. It was the kind that could open up, and already, there was a picture of the two of us in it. She looked up, tears in her eyes. She smiled, and threw her arms around me, whispering a quiet, "Thank you."  
_

SkyGem: How did you like this chapter? Please review. Also, I might just update again tonight, if I have time. Anyways, there's something I wanted to tell you guys. Now, what was it…ah! I remember now! I just recently got an account on fictionpress and already have the first chapter of my first story, Battle for Essancee, uploaded. If you have the chance, please go check it out. I'm under the same pen name there.


	17. Tennis Family Royalty

**Atobe**

"Ryoma! Where are you? It's time to leave!"

I waited for a second, then out she came, wearing a black skirt and a light blue t-shirt. "Coming!" she called, dragging her bag after her. Sighing, I went up to her and picked it up for her.

"Now come on!" I said.

Giving a soft laugh, she said, "Yeah, I'm coming."

We went outside, and locked the door, heading towards the boat waiting to take us to the mainland.

"So, how did you like our stay here?" I asked her.

"It was lot's of fun. I'm really going to miss it."

Kissing her on the forehead, I said, "Don't worry, we can come back any time you like."

Looking excited, she said, "Really?"

Laughing at her excitement, I said, "Of course."

**Ryoma**

The trip home was quiet, and I soon fell asleep.

I next woke up to Keigo shaking me and saying, "Wake up, Ryoma. We're going to land soon."

"Un," I said, rubbing the sleep from my eyes. I put on my seatbelt, and within ten minutes, the plane had landed and we were getting off.

We had just retrieved our luggage when, suddenly, I heard a familiar voice calling, "Chi-bi-su-ke!"

Turning around, I saw my brother running towards me with our father right behind him. Before I knew it, I was engulfed in two bone-crushing bear hugs. When, finally, I was released after a few minutes, I said, "It's good to see you too, aniki, oyaji."

Immediately, Ryoga's arms went back around me, as he told me how much I had been missed and giving me a minute by minute recount of what had happened the last four days. Eventually, I couldn't take it anymore, and I had to cut him off.

"Thank you, Ryoga. Now, can we go home? I'm tired!"

Pouting a little at being cut off, he said, "Fine."

Turning to Keigo, who had been quiet until now, I said, "Bye Keigo! I'll see you later!" and gave him a peck on the cheek.

Smiling, he said, "Goodbye, Ryoma." Then he turned to face Ryoga and my dad and said, "Goodbye, Ryoga-san, goodbye, Nanjiro-san."

"Goodbye, and thank you for taking care of Ryoga these last four days," said my dad.

Nodding, Keigo turned around and headed to the limo awaiting him, while we turned and headed to our car. As soon as I sat down, I fell right to sleep, which isn't so surprising, considering it was four in the morning. I was incredibly sleepy, but, I vaguely felt the car stop, and someone undo my seatbelt and carry me up to my bed. I opened my eyes a bit and was conscious long enough to say, "Good night, onii-chan….."  
_

When next I awoke, it was noon, and I was incredibly hungry. I went downstairs, and made some cereal and milk for myself. After I had eaten, I looked around, wondering where Ryoga was. Then, I remembered that it today was Monday and he was probably at school/university. Bored, I went back up to my room and spent the rest of the day on the computer.

I was checking my email, when one of the housekeepers, Maya, came to inform me that there were visitors.

"Visitors? Who?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, I haven't seen them before. They said they were your sempai-tachi from school."

My eyes widened, and I said, "Thanks, I'll go see them right now."

When I got downstairs, I saw the eight Seigaku tennis club regulars, all (except for Tezuka) staring, wide-eyed, around the foyer.

"Hey, guys!" I called, skipping down the stairs.

As soon as he heard me, Eiji stopped gawking and turned to greet me in his usual way, that is, he glomped me. Soon after him, Momo followed.

When they finally let go, I said, "Sheesh, guys, I was only away for like four days."

"But! But you didn't even come to school today! And I really, really wanted to see you!" said Eiji, looking close to tears.

I almost laughed at his childishness when suddenly, Momo said, "But, Ryoma-chan, you didn't tell us you were rich!"

Looking at him, I said, "But I thought you knew? Papa and onii-chan are quite popular in the tennis world. I mean, they are the demi-god and the samurai Nanjirou."

At this, they all looked incredibly shocked. "WHAT!"

The looks on their faces were priceless, I started laughing hysterically.

"I-is that true?" asked Inui.

Finally able to stop laughing, I said, "Yup! It's true! Come on! I'll show you!"

So I took them to the case where all the trophies and medal's were kept. "See?" I asked.

Momo was the first to come out of his shock as he turned to me and said, "I can't believe it, Ryoma! You're tennis family royalty!"

I laughed, then noticed their bags. They had brought their tennis stuff with them. "Ne, would you guys like to use our courts for a while?"

"Can we really?" asked Eiji excitedly.

"Sure!" I replied, then led them towards the courts behind our house.

When we got there, again, everyone was shocked. There were five, fully lit courts. Although, this time, they weren't in shock long. Within seconds, they had all chosen a court and were already playing.

I watched them play for a while, and were impressed. I hadn't seen them play in a long time, and they had improved greatly. Watching them, I felt a bit jealous. I really wanted to play, but, they were all already paired up, and I would just mess up the numbers.

"Want me to play with you?" asked a voice from behind me.

Turning around, I said, "Onii-chan! You're back!"

Smiling a cheeky smile, he said, "So, how about it? Wanna play?"

"Sure!" I said and jumped up to get my racket, but then I saw he had already brought it.

"When Maya told me that you were at the courts with some guests, I figured that you'd be itching to play by now."

Hugging him, I said, "You know me so well."

I then let him go and we went to one of the two remaining courts.

**Momo**

I had just finished my match against Kaido, when suddenly I noticed that Ryoma wasn't sitting where she had been before. I looked around, searching for her. I then saw that she was on one of the extra courts, facing her brother, about to begin playing. Getting curious, I went to watch the match.

What I saw impressed me greatly. Ryoma was incredibly talented in tennis and was almost holding up against her brother. By the time the match had finished, everyone else had also come over and we were all completely flabbergasted. Going up to her, I said, "I thought you didn't know how to play?"

Looking at me, she smiled, then said, "Aniki has been training me almost ever since we met, in June."

Amazed, I said, "You've gotten this good in only four months?"

Suddenly, Ryoga came over, throwing an arm around Ryoma's shoulder's saying, "I know, it's amazing, isn't it? I was also really surprised when I first started teaching her. She hit the ball back almost perfectly." Smiling down at her, he said, "Looks like she's inherited our father's skill! She's the princess of tennis!"  
_

SkyGem: Yo! Well, that's chapter 17 done. I assure you guys, this will not be the end. There are quite a few more chapters coming. I mean, we haven't even reached the climax yet, which I assure you, will be very surprising. Well, please review and tell me what you thought, and until next chapter, au revoir!


	18. Halloween

**Ryoma**

"Ne, Ryoma-chan?" asked Sakuno one day as we were having lunch.

"Yeah?"

"What are you going to do for Halloween?"

Sighing, I said, "Keigo wants me to come to the costume party he's holding at his house," I said.

"That sounds like fun," said Sakuno, looking confused. "But you don't seem happy about it?"

Looking at her, I said, "Well, in most cases, it would be fun. But, this time, it's a whole different case."

"Oh? How come?"

"Because," I said, crossing my arms. "I have to dress like a princess."

She still looked confused, so I elaborated. "You know, big puffy dress, lots of jewelry, makeup, and tiara?"

Finally understanding, she started giggling. "That's tough. I know how much you hate wearing dresses."

"Exactly! It was bad enough wearing that one during summer, but now, I have to wear one that's got thousands of layers and will probably suffocate me within seconds!"

She started giggling even more, so I gave her a glare and she immediately stopped. "But what about Ryoga-san and your dad? Couldn't you ask them for help?"

Shaking my head, I said, "They are both in complete support of the idea. It seems as if I have a family of sadists."

"What about Tezuka-sempai and everyone else from the tennis club?"

Shaking my head again I said, "Keigo bribed them. They're allowed to come to the party."

Looking sympathetic, she said, "That's tough."

I sighed again and said, "Oh well."

Then, suddenly, an idea came to me. Quickly whipping out my cell phone, I quickly dialed Keigo's number.

It rang two times, then someone picked it up. _"Hello?"_ asked Keigo's voice from the other side.

"Hi Keigo!" I said cheerfully.

"_Oh, Ryoma! What's up?"_

"Well, I've got a deal for you."

"_What kind of deal?"_ he asked, his voice getting suspicious.

"You let me bring two of my friends to the party, and I'll wear the princess costume, no trouble to you."

He seemed to think for a while, then said, _"Great! Then should ?I get two more costumes ready?"_

"That's right!" I said. "Both princesses!"

"_Fine. Well, I'll see both you and your friends next week! Oh, and don't worry, I'll have everything ready, so you just have to bring your pretty little selves."_

"Great! Bye-bye!" I said, hanging up. I then turned to a very confused Sakuno and grinned evilly.

"U-um, R-Ryoma-chan? I-is there something w-wrong?" she asked.

I smiled sweetly. "No problem at all, just that you and Tomo-chan are coming with me to the party next week!"

"W-what!"

"That's right! And there's no way you're getting out of it!"  
_

SkyGem: I'm sorry, guys, this chapter was really short, but I was kind of short on time. But, I have great news for everyone! I'm gonna be uploading twice tomorrow to make up for this short chapter. ^_^. Since school is finally over for me now, I have lot's more time to write, so look forward to the next two chapters! Well, until next time, sayonara!


	19. Three Princesses

**Ryoma**

"Keigo!" I called, running towards his bedroom with Sakuno and Tomo following me. "We're here!"

"I'm in here!" he called from his bedroom.

I walked in and saw him busily talking to some of the maids. When I entered, he turned and smiled. Coming up to me, he kissed me on the lips then said, "Hey." He then looked up and noticed Sakuno and Tomo. "You must be Ryuuzaki-san and Osakada-san."

"H-hai!" they replied in unison, seeming a bit overwhelmed.

"Please follow me," he said, "I'll show you to your respective changing rooms."

About ten half an hour later, I was finally done changing. I was wearing a breath-taking (literally) light pink colored dress. It had thousands of layers, and the skirt was plain with some flower designs on it. The bodice had a row of cloth flowers at the neckline with a ribbon of silk right underneath the bosom. It was strapless, and the tummy area had lot's of flower designs. My long greenish-black hair was curled starting halfway down and was in a half ponytail. The tiara was simple, yet elegant, it had a design of flowers with pink petals. I had a necklace and earrings matching the tiara and a pair of silver colored strapped, high heels. So basically, I was a modern day princess. I also had some light makeup on, not too noticeable.

When I was done, I walked out to see that Sakuno and Tomo were done changing already. Sakuno had had the good fortune of being a medieval princess. This meant that, her dress had maybe only three or four layers and was a deep red color. It had off-the-shoulder, puffy sleeves which went all the way to her wrists. The bodice had a kind of vine design right down the middle of the torso, but was other wise plain. The skirt itself had the same kind of vine design all the way around just above the hem, but was also otherwise plain. The necklace was a delicate teardrop shape with a red gem in the middle, and she wore no earrings. On her head, she was wearing a simple circlet studded with small rubies, and her long, wavy hair was let out. Her feet couldn't be seen, in fact, none of ours could.

Tomo-chan, was something completely different from the both of us. She was an elf princess. She wore a light yellow colored dress that had a kind of turtleneck. It had long tight sleeves that fanned out at the elbows. It was pretty plain with only a few designs at the cuffs of her sleeves and at the hem of the skirt. Although, at the waist, it started to plait a bit, which gave it a more royal look, yet still kept it simple. Keigo had somehow found a way to make her ears a bit pointy, and the way her hair was put into an intricate braid emphasized this. She wore a simple circlet like Sakuno, except hers had yellow topaz in it. She didn't wear any jewelry.

"Wow," I said, amazed. "You two look amazing."

They looked equally amazed. "Ryoma-chan! You look gorgeous! I love what they did to your hair! And that dress looks absolutely beautiful on you!"

Smiling at Tomo, I said, "Thank you. Now, come on! We have to get downstairs and join the party, everyone is waiting for us!"

"Us?" asked Sakuno nervously.

"Oops, did I forget to tell you? We're the guests of honor today! The belles of the ball!"

"What!"

Laughing, I said, "That's right, now come on! We have to get you two some boyfriends already."

Suddenly, we were interrupted by two women dressed as servants. "Excuse me," said one of them.

"Yes?" I asked.

They smiled and the other spoke. "We have been assigned to be your servants, Ryoma-hime, Sakuno-hime, and Tomoko-hime."  
_

SkyGem: This chapter was also short, but the next chapter, which is coming in like three or four hours probably, will be about as long as the usual chapters. Hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review! Until next time, good bye!


	20. Birth of a New Couple?

**Kaido**

I and the other regulars had just arrived at Keigo's house when suddenly three stunning girls dressed as princesses came down the stairs with what looked to be two servants behind them. They were all gorgeous and, and, at first, I didn't recognize any of them.

When, suddenly, one of them looked my way and smiled, I finally realized that I knew them all! The green haired one was Ryoma-chan, the one in the yellow dress was her friend, Tomo, and the one with the long, wavy brown hair who had smiled at me was coach Ryuuzaki's granddaughter! (AN: ha! I bet you guys thought it was Ryoma)

Then, Ryoma seemed to notice us and started coming over.

"Hello, everyone! How are you all doing today?" she said in a very formal way, though I wasn't really paying attention to her, I was still trying not to stare at the medieval princess.

**Ryoma**

Tomo-chan, Sakuno, and I were just coming own the stairs when I realized that Sakuno was looking at something. I followed her gaze and saw that it was the Seigaku regulars. I smiled, and headed their way.

They were all dressed in pretty cool costumes. Tezuka was dressed like a prince (AN: can't really describe this one, go to my profile to check it out), Eiji was dressed as a dark jester with his mask off, on the side of his face. Fuji was wearing an angel suit, which I think is a perfect portrayal of irony, Taka was dressed as Frankenstein, Momo was a pirate with an eye patch, Inui was a mad scientist (prefect for him), Kaido was a samurai, and there was someone wearing a grim reaper costume, who I assumed to be Oishi.

"Hello, everyone! How are you all doing today?" I asked, trying to sound like a princess.

"Wow, you're really pretty, Ryoma-chan!" Eiji almost shouted.

Laughing, I said, "And you look really….cute, Eiji-sempai. Also, tonight it's Ryoma-hime," I said, teasing.

They must have all taken it to heart, because, when Momo started talking, he said, "Well then, Ryoma-hime, how's about you dump Keigo and go out with me instead?"

I giggled at his teasing when he was smacked on the head from behind. Turning around, he yelled, "Who the hell did that?"

"Stop flirting with my girlfriend!" replied a familiar voice.

I looked to see Keigo, standing there in his vampire costume.

"Geez, Atobe. You didn't have to hit me! I was just joking!"

"Whatever!" said Atobe, turning his head away.

As the two continued to argue, I suddenly noticed that Kaido wasn't paying attention. He was staring at Sakuno, who's face was bright red.

Getting an evil thought in my head, I gestured Tomo over.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I think Kaido-sempai is interested in Sakuno, wanna hook them up?" I whispered into her ear.

She looked over at them and immediately saw what I had seen. Turning back to me, she excitedly whispered in my ear, "Definitely! They're the perfect match! But what should we do?"

I thought for a while, then said, "Take Ayu (one of the servants) and go them to put some dancing music on! I'll handle the rest."

Looking determined, she said, "Great!"

"What are you guys whispering about?" interrupted Momo.

"Hm?" asked Tomo. "Oh, nothing. Now, I'm sorry, but I have to go to the little lady's room," she said, then quickly turned around and left, Ayu following her.

"So," said Keigo, putting his arms around me from behind. "What were you two talking about?"

I looked up at him, then turned around, and, pretending to give him a kiss, told him our plan. He seemed interested, then said, "Mind if I help?"

"Sure."

"Great," he said, then beckoned over a group of girls.

Giggling, they came over. "Yes, Atobe-sama?"

"Girls, I would like you to meet some of my friends."

They turned to see who he was talking to, and practically started drooling. Within seconds, they had attached themselves to all members of the regulars but Kaido, who was, they thought, already with another girl.

Soon, the music started and all the regulars, save for Kaido, had been dragged off to the dance floor. For a while, he looked around confused, then, I went up to him and whispered into his ear, "Ask her to dance, bonehead!"

Now, usually, I wouldn't have dared say that, and he wouldn't have taken it, but, today, it was different. Looking flustered, he haltingly asked her, "W-would you like to dance, Ryuuzaki-san?"

She looked at me, blushing brightly, and unsure of what to do. I smiled back in response, giving her a thumbs-up. Still looking a bit unnerved, she accepted and off they went.

"Now," said Keigo. "Since that's over, would you like to dance, hime?"

Smiling, I accepted and was whisked away to the dance floor.

**Tomo**

Smiling, I watched my two best friends dancing with their boyfriends. Well, boyfriend and boyfriend-to-be. As I watched, a hand lightly tapped me on the shoulder. Turning around, I saw a guy in a warrior elf costume, looking at me.

"Would you like to dance, your highness?" he asked in a beautiful voice.

Smiling, I said, "I'd love to."

**Sakuno**

As I danced, I couldn't stop blushing. This sempai, who usually seemed so scary, suddenly looked extremely handsome to me, and thus, a crush was born. Despite his usually tough demeanor, he was being very gentle, and seemed very kind. I had lot's of fun, and was sad when the dance was over.

We walked back to our other friends, all the girls from before were gone.

Everyone was talking, but, for the rest of the night, I couldn't keep my eyes off of Kaido-sempai.

**Ryoma**

Later in the night, Tomo and I were finally able to get Sakuno alone and we bombarded her with questions.

"So? What was it like? Did anything happen? When's your first date?" asked Tomo.

"Oi, Tomo-chaaaan! It's not like that!"

"But you do like him, right?" I asked her.

"W-well, u-um, y-yes." She stuttered, blushing a bright red.

"Great! Then you should tell him!" I said.

Shaking her head, she said, "T-there's no w-way I could d-do that!"

"Why not?"

"B-because, what if he d-doesn't like me like that?"

Sighing, I said, "Fine. Would you like me to find out for you?"

Smiling, she said, "Y-you would do that for me?"

"Of course! We're friends, right?"

Smiling and hugging me, she said, "Thank you so much, Ryoma-chan!"

"No problem, but, you might have to wait a few days for your answer, is that alright?"

"Of course! No problem!"

"Great. You'll have your answer within a week."  
_

SkyGem: Yay! Chapter 20! Wow, this is pretty long. Well, please review, and tell me what you thought about this chapter, and especially about this pairing! Thank you and see you later.


	21. America

**Ryoma**

"Ne, Kaido-sempai?" I asked Kaido while we were alone the day after the Halloween party.

"What?" he asked.

"Do you like anybody."

"No," he said quickly, too quickly.

"Oh? Then I wonder why you're blushing?"

"S-shut up!" he said, still blushing furiously, then turned to leave.

"Well, if you don't like anybody, then you don't like anybody. Too bad, though, I know someone who has a huge crush on you."

Whipping around, he said, "Who?"

"What do you care? You don't like anybody," I said, trying to look indifferent.

"Just tell me who!"

"Fine! It's Tomo-chan!" I said.

After I had said this, he first looked really disappointed, then confused.

"Osakada-san?" he asked.

"You look disappointed, were you expecting someone else?" I asked.

"O-of course not!"

"I bet the person you like is Sakuno-chan, isn't it?"

"N-no! It isn't!"

"I knew it! I was right! You do like her!"

"I said I didn't!"

"But your face says something different. Why don't you ask her out?"

Looking defeated, he said, "Yeah right, she probably doesn't like that way. I bet she just said yes because she didn't want to disrespect her sempai."

Giggling, I said, "Wow, you really are clueless. I mean, with all the staring you did at her, one would think that you would have noticed her staring back."

Upon hearing this, he first blushed, then, as he realized the full extent of what I had said, he blushed again, and said, "S-she was staring at me? Why would she do that?"

"Because she's crazy about you, duh!"

"B-but I thought you said-"

"Oh please," I interrupted him. "Do you really think that someone like Tomo-chan would fall for someone like you?"

"Hey!"

"What I mean is, she always goes for the gentlemanly type, not the tough, kinda scruffy yet still pretty hot type."

When I said 'hot,' he blushed, then said, "So Ryuuzaki-san really likes me?"

"That's right. So, you have to go ask her out right now! Before she gets taken by someone else!"

"Someone else?"

"Really, are you that oblivious?"

"There are a lot of guys in this school that would kill to have her as their girlfriend! Did you know that she even has her own fanclub?"

"No way! Really? I'll go now then."

"Great! But, I do have something to tell you," I said, making him look me right in the eyes.

"Y-yes?" he asked, seeming a little nervous about the aura that had just appeared around me.

Smiling, I said, "If you do anything to make her cry, I will forcefully put you into a sleep that I can assure you will never wake up from," in a voice that could put even Fuji-sempai to shame.

"H-hai!" he said, then turned and ran away.  
_

"Ryoma-chan!" called an excited voice from behind me.

I turned to see that it was Sakuno-chan running towards me. When she reached me, she attacked me in a very un-Sakuno-like way. "What's up, Sakuno-chan?" I asked as soon as I was released from her hug.

"Kaido-sempai just asked me out!"

"That's awesome!" I said, happy for her. "But, you know, you really should stop calling him sempai now that you two are going out."

"Oh? T-then what should I call him?"

"Call him Kaoru!"

"N-no way!" she said, looking panicked.

"Why not?"

"B-because, that's too embarrassing!"

"Fine! Then at least call him Kaido-kun."

She thought, then said, "K-Kaido-kun?" I nodded my head encouragingly. "Okay! Then I'll call him Kaido-kun!"

"Great!" I said, giving her a hug as we began to walk home.  
_

After that, the days passed by peacefully and, before I knew it, it was December. Ever since I was young, I had absolutely loved the winter, it was the season I was born in. Anyways, like I was saying, the days passed peacefully, Sakuno and Kaido's relationship was steady, Tomo had found a boyfriend (apparently it was someone she had met at the Halloween party), and the Seigaku tennis regulars had just secured a place for themselves at the nationals. Everything was going well, until, one day, I came home from school to see my father waiting for me in the living room, looking serious.

"Hi papa!" I said, going up to him and giving him a kiss on the cheek. "What's up?" I asked.

Looking at me, he said, "Ryoma, I've got something very important to tell you. Please sit down."

I sat down, and looked at him cautiously, "What is it, papa?" I asked after a few moments of silence.

Sighing, he said, "Ryoma, we're moving to America."

My blood froze. "America?" I asked, slightly disbelieving. "W-why would we be moving to America?

"Because, I have taken up a job over there as a tennis coach at a famous tennis club, and I can't just leave you and Ryoga here all by yourself."

"W-why not?" I asked. "Y-you've done it b-before!"

Shaking his head, he said, "That was only for a few days. This is for good."

"B-but, I don't want to move! All my friends are h-here!" I said, close to tears.

His face softened, and he said, "Look, Ryoma, I'm really sorry, but, there's no way I could leave you here. And you'll see your friends again. You can come back to visit any time you want, so please, don't cry," he said, looking upset, and I realized how hard this must be for him too.

I really did love my father and didn't want to cause trouble for him, so I swallowed my tears and said, "O-okay, but, i-is it okay if I stay until Christmas at least? I w-want to spend my birthday together w-with everyone."

Smiling, he said, "Of course you can. I'll be going there early to get everything settled, I'll come pick you up on the 25th."

I said, "Thank you. Now if you'll excuse me, papa, I have homework to do."

"All right."

I turned and went up to my room. As soon as I got there, I locked the door, and threw myself onto the bed, finally letting my tears flow.  
_

SkyGem: Well, that's it. What do you guys think about Ryoma having to move to America? Can you guess what's going to happen next? I bet none of you will get it right, you'll just have to wait until the next chapter! Well, until then, I'm out.


	22. The Party, The Accident

SkyGem: Hey guys! I had loads of time today, and I was bored, so I decided to crank out another chapter. This one is longer than usual, and I bet you'll be pretty surprised by the end of it. I hope you guys enjoy this chapter! ^_^  
_

**Ryoma**

After the talk with papa, I became a lot gloomier, and it must have shown, too, because people kept asking me whether I was okay or not. I always answered with the same thing, "I'm fine." Most of the time, they didn't believe me, but stopped inquiring anyway. Even though I had more than three weeks to do it, in the end, I wasn't able to tell my friends that I would be leaving, so, I decided to tell them at the party.

When I woke up on Christmas eve, it was to my brother shaking me and shouting something (I was starting to get really tired of that).

"Wake up, Ryo-chan!"

Snapping my eyes open and glaring at him, I said grumpily, "What the hell do you want! Can't you just let me sleep in?"

Recoiling a bit at my harsh words, he said, "But Ryo-chan! I just wanted to be the first to say happy birthday to you!"

Sighing disappointedly, I said, "You didn't have to wake me up early just for that, it's not like anyone remembered."

Looking curious, he said, "What do you mean by that? It's not like they would forget, I mean, they are your friends."

"Oh, really? Then how come…"

_Flashback_

"I'm sorry, Ryoma, but, I can't come,"_ he said, sounding apologetic._

_I felt disappointment well up inside me, but tried to keep it out of my voice as I said, "Why not?"_

_Sighing, he said,_ "Unfortunately, I have a very important business meeting to attend." _So I wasn't as important as his business, well it's not like I should have expected anything else, but it still hurt._ "Anyways, it's just a Christmas party, right? We could still celebrate it on the day after, right?"_ It was at that moment that I had finally realized, he had forgotten my birthday! _

"_Um, yeah!" I said, trying to sound excited. "Goodbye, then!"_

"See you later, Ryoma,"_ he said._

_After that incident, I had decided not to have the party after all, everyone else had probably just forgotten. This was proved true, as, over the next few days, all the regulars had been chatting about what they would be doing for the break. They all had something special to do and had completely forgotten about my birthday._

_End Flashback_

As I finished telling him about what had happened, he looked absolutely furious. Growling under his breath, he said, "Missing my chibisuke's sweet sixteen is unforgivable (remember, everyone is in high school here, meaning Ryoma would be turning 16)! I'm going to make them pay!"

"No! It's okay, onii-chan! Please don't! It's not their fault they forgot, they just have a lot on their minds!" I said, trying to calm him down.

"Fine," he said, still looking grumpy. "Whatever, their loss is our gain, right? We'll have a party all by ourselves, which means more cake for us!"

Laughing, I said, "Yeah, but, first, we have to have breakfast."

"What? Why? I want to have the cake now!" cried Ryoga, sounding like a tantrum throwing child.

Laughing, I said, "Oh, come one! You know we have to have the cake in the evening! Eating a cake so early is completely wrong!"

Pouting, he said, "Fine, you're right. We'll have the cake later on."

Laughing at my brother's childishness, I suddenly found that my unhappiness had suddenly disappeared.

We then spent the rest of the day playing together and acting childish, until we were informed that we had guests.

**Sakuno**

Yawning as I got out of bed, I stretched for a second, then suddenly remembered what day it was, it was Ryoma's birthday! I had almost completely forgotten! Luckily, I had already bought her a gift, all that was left was to get Tomo, and Kaoru and go over to her house. I looked over to the opposite side of the room and saw Tomo, still sleeping peacefully. Since it was winter break, I had decided to stay with my grandma for a little while, and Tomo had decided that she wanted to also.

I went over to her, and said gently, "Tomo-chan! Get up! We have to go over to Ryoma-chan's house to celebrate her birthday."

Opening her eyes, she said sleepily, "Yeah, yeah, I'm up, I'm up."

About an hour later, I had finally gotten Tomo to wake up, have breakfast, and get dressed. I had also called Kaoru and we had decided to go all together.

**Ryoma**

"W-what are you guys doing here?" I asked, confused, as I saw Tomo, Sakuno, and Kaido all walk in, each of them holding presents.

"Why, we're here for your birthday!" said Tomo excitedly.

"Y-you remembered?"

"If course! We would never forget your birthday! Especially not your 16th!"

"Oh? Then how come everyone else did?" I asked, upset.

"What? Everyone forgot! Just you wait till I get my hands on them! I'm gonna rip them apart!" said Tomo, sounding really mad.

Ryoga coincidentally heard this and came in, whining, "Hey! How come she can rip them apart but I can't!"

My eyebrow twitched, and I turned on them, "None of you are ripping anyone apart! If you guys so much as breathe a word to them about this, you'll get what's coming to you!" I then turned to Ryoga. "Anyways, it's not like we'll be around long enough for you to so much as see them, let alone beat them up!" I shouted.

"Won't be around?" asked Kaido, who hadn't said anything up until now. "What do you mean by 'won't be around?'"

Turning around, I said in a soft voice, "Well, you see, the truth is, Ryoga and will be leaving tonight, to join our father in America."

"WHAT!" they all shouted in unison.

"Why the hell didn't you tell us!" asked Kaido, looking furious.

Looking up, I said, "I was going to tell everyone at the party I was going to hold tonight, but then Keigo said he wouldn't be able to come and…" I trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"And you thought you could just leave without saying anything?" shouted Tomo, even madder now than she had been before.

At that moment, I broke down, crying. "W-what do y-you want m-me to d-do?" I shouted at them.

Sakuno then came up to me, and wrapped her arms around me. "We're sorry for yelling, Ryoma-chan, but, it's just that finding out that you would be leaving is very hard for us. You're such a good friend to us, and, you know, we're really going to miss you. We just wish that you would have told us sooner.

"I-I'm sorry," I sobbed into her shirt, unable to say anything else. We stayed like that for a while, then, when I was finally able to stop crying, we resumed what Ryoga and I had been doing before Sakuno, Tomo, and Kaido had showed up, we goofed off. Before we knew it, it was 8 in the evening and it was time to cut the cake. Everyone sang me happy birthday, and I blew out the candles, then we all had some of the delicious cake. After the cake, we all snuggled together to watch a movie until my dad arrived. When he finally arrived about half an hour before midnight, all the waterworks began again, only, this time, it wasn't me crying. This time, it was Sakuno and Tomo, and, to my surprise, also Kaido, who had let his mask of toughness slip, just a little, so that I could see tears glistening in his eyes.

I smiled at them, trying to seem brave, and got into the car along with my brother and father, and headed off to the airport, while, the others, I was sure, got into a limo, and were sent off to their homes. We soon arrived at the airport, and, everything suddenly seemed just so surreal. It was hard for me to believe that, after not even a year here, I was leaving, and it hurt so much, as if I was leaving my birthplace. I then realized, this was the pain I should have felt when leaving Taiwan. I thought I had escaped it, only to find out that it was just hiding, waiting for a chance to strike.

Before long, Ryoga, my father, and I had boarded the plane, and my head was rested on Ryoga's shoulder as I drifted off to sleep. When I awoke, it had been around eight hours since we had left Japan, and I was extremely hungry. After I had finished eating, I had to wait about another 6 hours until the plane finally stopped and we were allowed to get off.

We had gotten off, and papa had gone off somewhere, to do something important.

"Are you thirsty?" asked my brother.

"A little," I admitted.

"Wait just a sec, I'll go get you some thing to drink," he said, walking over to a small shop not far from where I was waiting.

"Onii-chan!" I called, attempting to follow him, when suddenly, I heard a car horn. Confused, I looked around, thinking, _Why am I hearing a car horn? There shouldn't be any cars around here._ I looked behind me, and finally found the source of the car horn. It was a car that was obviously out of control, and it was headed straight towards me! I stood there, frozen in shock, as the driver of the car, and everyone else screamed at me to move. But, no matter how hard they screamed, I couldn't move, I was a deer caught in the headlights.

The last thing I heard before the car hit me and I blacked out, was my brother screaming, _"RYOMA!"  
__

SkyGem: See! I bet you guys weren't expecting that! So, want to know what happens next? Well, too bad! You'll just have to wait until the next chapter is out! Haha! Well, on that note, farewell to all, and I hope to see you again next chapter. ^_^ (seems this thing has become my signature, I just love it)


	23. The Damage

SkyGem: Hey guys! I don't have much to say, just that in this chapter, the **bolded** text is in English, remember people, they're in America, where people speak English. Well, I hope you enjoy this chapter!  
_

**Ryoma**

I lay on my bed, listening to what the doctor was saying. It had been only yesterday that I had been hit by the car, and already I was completely fine, except for the ache in my head. I had just woken up, when I heard the doctor talking to someone, most likely my brother and father, outside.

"**So, how is she, doctor?"** asked my father.

"**Well,"** said the doctor, sounding anxious. **"Apart from her head, her body has already physically healed."**

"**Thank goodness!"** said my brother, sounding relieved.

"**But,"** said the doctor, sounding regretful.

"**But?"** asked both my father and Ryoga.

"**But…."**

**Atobe**

It was already the 27th, and I still had absolutely no idea where Ryoma was.

_Flashback_

"_But why not, father?"_

"_Because, you have a responsibility._

"_But you promised that I could spend today with her!"_

"_Yes, but that was before I found out president Takenaka was coming!"_

"_Why can't you attend though?"_

"_Because I have work to do!"_

_Sighing in frustration, I said, "Fine!"_

_Later, when I tried to phone her to tell her that I wasn't coming today either, she wouldn't pick up her phone, so I just left a message._

_The next day, when I went over to her house, I found it completely empty, except for one or two housekeepers, who wouldn't tell me where Ryoma was when I asked them. Frustrated, I left, deciding to ask one of her friends. I called the cell phone of one of the girls she had brought to the party._

"Hello?"_ asked shy girls voice from the other side._

"_Hello. I'm Atobe Keigo. Might you know where Ryoma is?" I asked politely._

_Immediately, her voice became forced as she said, _"I'm sorry, Atobe-san, I do know where she went, but I do not think I will tell you."

"_What? Why not?"_

"Because, any guy who forgets their girlfriends birthday, then doesn't even think to call until two days after doesn't deserve to know where she went!"

"_Birthday?" I asked, confused. Then it hit me, that day she had called to invite me to the party, it wasn't for Christmas, it was for her birthday! And I had completely forgotten! "Shit!" I said._

"Goodbye, Atobe-san. Please don't call here again,"_ she said, then hung up._

_End Flashback_

After that, I had asked around, and, either they didn't know where she was, or they wouldn't tell me. One of the guys, the one with the bandanna, had even tried to hit me!

Frustrated, I decided to go home.

"Ah, Keigo! Have you found out where they went?" asked my father as he came into the room.

Shaking my head, I said, "No, nobody will tell me."

"Then, I guess you'll be pretty interested to find out that one of my friends has employed a certain Echizen Nanjiro at his tennis club in America."

Turning around, I said, "What? They're in America?"

"That's right. I've even found out their new address. Here you are," he said, handing me a piece of paper with an address on it.

Looking at him gratefully, I said, thank you, father!" I then turned around, and headed straight back out of the house, on my way to the airport.  
_

It was afternoon of the 28th by the time the plane landed, and I was very impatient. I got off the plane and found the limo waiting for me. I gave the driver the address, and off we went. In about another half hour, we were in front of a huge mansion, about as big as the one in Japan.

I went up to the front door, and rang the bell. Surprisingly enough, it was Ryoga who answered the door. As soon as he saw me, he growled, and said, "What are you doing here, Atobe?"

Pushing past him, I said, "I'm here to see Ryoma."

"Well, I'm sorry, but she's resting right now," he said from behind me.

Ignoring him, I went up the stairs, and, luckily enough for me, this mansion was built in a way similar to the one they had in Japan, and I easily found Ryoma's bedroom. I opened the door, and there was Ryoma, sitting on her bed with a dog on one side of her, and her cat on the other. As I walked in, she didn't even get up to greet me, or even say anything at all. She just turned to look at me, and said nothing.

"Ryoma!" I said in relief, going up to her. As I got closer, the dog started to growl at me and the cat started hissing. Ryoma put up her, and, as if this were a signal of some sort, the dog and the cat both quieted down right away. She looked down, and started searching for something. She finally found it, and it turned out to be her cell phone. She took it out, and started texting, when she was finally done, she held up the phone towards me, and I read what it said.

'I'm never talking to you again.'

"Oh, come on Ryoma, that's a little harsh, isn't it? I'm sorry I forgot your birthday, but I had a lot of things on my mind."

'I don't care, just leave me alone.'

"Please, Ryoma! I came all this way to apologize to you, won't you forgive me?"

'No! We're through, and I never want to see you again, now leave!'

"But, Ryoma!"

'Now, Atobe-san! Or else I'll loose Karupin and Chestnut on you! Anyways, I've already moved on, so I suggest you do too.'

"M-moved on?"

'That's right. I already have another boyfriend, one who wouldn't ever forget my birthday.'

"Ryoma…" I said, tears burning my eyes. "Please…"

'Goodbye, Atobe-san.' Her face was cold as she showed me this last message, and I knew, from that one look she gave me, that she truly had moved on. Turning around, I walked out the door, leaving behind my one true love, never to see her again.  
_

SkyGem: So, how did you guys like the ending of Hidden Himesama? Lol, just kidding, there's still about four of five more chapters to go. Anyways, what would you guys have done if you were in her position? I know I would have done the same, but then, I know what's going to happen next, so I know why she did what she did. Anyways, please review, and I'll see you again next chapter, which will be coming in about four or five hours.


	24. Rehab

SkyGem: Okay, so it's been more than five hours. I'm sorry, but I've been kinda busy. Well, anyway, here's chapter 24, and I hope you enjoy it!  
_

**Ryoma**

As soon as Keigo left, I broke down crying, but, of course, no body could hear me because…

_Flashback_

"_**But,"**__ said the doctor, sounding regretful._

"_**But?"**__ asked both my father and Ryoga._

"_**But, due to the accident, she has received some brain damage."**_

"_**Brain damage? You mean, she…"**_

"_**No, she's mentally stable, and continues to think properly."**_

"_**Then what?"**__ asked my father, sounding confused._

"_**Two things. One, she has lost the ability to speak, and two, s-she's paralyzed from the waist down. She'll never walk again."**_

_End Flashback_

As the doctors words rang in my ears once again, my crying intensified. Thanks to that stupid car accident, I would never be able to play tennis again! Chestnut, the dog my dad had bought to help me(1), started whining. She was very sensitive and must have sensed my distress, because, she soon started barking loudly. Within seconds, Ryoga was with me, holding me in his arms and trying to comfort me.

"What happened?" he asked.

'I broke up with him.' I told him via my phone.

"Why, though?"

'Because, I didn't want to hold him back. I mean, it's not like he wanted a half paralyzed mute as his girlfriend, he would have broken up with me anyway. I just set him free.'

My brother looked at me sympathetically, then smiled and said, "Well, that sucks, but I have some awesome news for you."

Looking at him curiously, I asked, 'What?'

"Well, turns out, there's something called speech rehab."

'Speech rehab?'

"That's right. You go see a doctor, and, he's going to show you a few techniques to get your voice back."

Excited, I typed, 'Really?'

"That's right. Before long, I'm sure you'll be able to talk just like before!"

Unable to contain my excitement, I hugged him tightly, all the while laughing silently. Then, I suddenly remembered my paralysis and looked up at him.

"Hm? What's up?" asked Ryoga.

'What about my legs.'

His smile didn't waver as he said, "Well, the doctors say you can't do anything about that, but, you've proved people wrong before, right? We'll keep practicing, and, before long, you'll be walking just like before. It's time for you to prove to the world that nothing can keep an Echizen down!"

His optimism must have been contagious, because I couldn't help but smile with him. I gave him a kiss on the cheek, then he kissed me back and said, "Now, go to sleep, tomorrows new year's eve, so you have to get enough sleep, or else you won't be able to stay up and watch the fireworks with us, or count down the new year.

'Good night.'

**Atobe**

"Keigo," said my father from behind me.

I turned to look at him, not saying anything.

"Will you stop moping around? So she wasn't the one, just go out and find someone else."

I looked up at him, about argue, but then I saw in his face how truly worried he was. I forced a smile, and said, "You're right, dad. I'll find someone else, it's not like she's the only fish in the sea."

Looking relieved, he said, "That's my boy. Now, I've got to go to a meeting, I'll see you later for the new years celebration. Bye!" he said, leaving.

As soon as I was sure he was gone, my smile disappeared, and I was in the same, if not a worse, state as before. I thought about the last time I had seen Ryoma, and I steeled my resolve. I decided to do what I had told my father, I was going to move on. There were plenty of prettier girls out there, and I could have any of them that I wanted. But, even as I thought this, I knew it wasn't true, to me, Ryoma was, and always would be, the prettiest girl on Earth.

I sighed, and shook my head to clear it, and thought about other things, like the upcoming nationals tournament. Sighing again, I went to change into my tennis clothes and get my racket, deciding to get some practice in before my dad came home.  
_

SkyGem: So, what did you guys think? Please review, and I'm sorry this chapter was so short, but I just felt like it should end there. Anyways, the next chapter is coming tomorrow, but for now, farewell to all, and see you again soon! ^_^


	25. I Love You

SkyGem: Okay, I'm like, really sorry it took me so long to update, but I've kinda had writers block on this. I know, funny, right? To finally experience writers block, but at the end of a story. You see, I basically knew how I wanted to end it, but, no matter how I wrote it, it just didn't seem right, so, after the fourth or fifth re-write, I finally got it right, and even now, it's probably not that good, but, I'll let you judge that yourself. Well, on to the story!  
_

**Ryoga**

It had been about one or two months since the accident and, even though Ryoma was still doing well in her schoolwork (actually, she's home schooled now), her speech and walking hadn't showed any improvement. Honestly, I was starting to get very worried, what if she never got better? Sighing, I knocked on her door, and, as soon as Chestnut barked her permission, I went in. As soon as I walked in, Ryoma smiled.

Beckoning me over with her hand, she wrote on her whiteboard, 'Onii-chan! Look what I can do!'

Then, slowly but surely, she got off the bed and took one struggling step. Seeing this, my eyes began to water. "Ryoma! You did it! You took your first step!"

Smiling, she sat back down, then wrote, 'I've been practicing on my own so that I could surprise you and otou-san.'

"That's wonderful!" I said. "Keep up the good work!"

She opened her mouth, and said, in a quiet voice, "T-th-a-nk y-ou."

I smiled, feeling a whole lot better. Maybe Ryoma was doing better than I thought. Slowly but surely, she was getting better, she just had to take her time and do it at her own pace.

**Atobe**

As I kept hitting the ball against the wall, I suddenly felt the presence of another behind me. Turning around, I saw Miu sitting there, watching me. As our eyes made contact, she smiled, but I had no urge to smile back. Getting up, she walked over to where I was standing and put her arms around me.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" I asked her.

She smiled mischievously and said, "Getting my boyfriend back, of course. I heard that you broke up with that Ryoma girl, does that mean you're single?"

Nodding, I said, "Yeah, what's it to you?"

She smiled again, and said, "This is what it means to me." She then leaned in and proceeded to kiss me. My reflex reaction was to push her away, but then I thought, _Why bother? I mean, Ryoma's already moved on, so why shouldn't I?_ So I kissed back. I could feel Miu smirk into this kiss, but I didn't care, I just wove my hands into her hair, and deepened the kiss, until, suddenly, something hit the back of my head, hard.

"How could you!" said an infuriated girls voice from behind me, and I felt hope flare inside me, maybe Ryoma had decided to forgive me! Turning around, ready to apologize and beg, I found, to my dismay, that it wasn't Ryoma who had hit me, but her friend, Ryuuzaki Sakuno.

"What the hell was that for?" I nearly shouted at her.

At this, tears came into her eyes, and I started to feel guilty. Then, in a tear choked voice, she said, "How could you do this to Ryoma?"

Looking at her blankly, I said, "Do what to Ryoma? It's none of her business who I kiss, or go out with, we broke up two months ago!"

Still looking upset, she said in a quiet voice, "But, she still loves you, you know. She loves you more than you could possibly imagine."

Even though I knew it probably wasn't true, I felt incredibly happy hearing this. Trying not to show my feelings, I said in an indifferent voice, "Oh really? But she was the one that broke up with me!"

Looking up quickly, she said, "But she only did that for your sake! Do you have any idea how much it killed her inside? Ryoga said she was depressed for weeks afterward!"

Confused, I said, "What do you mean, she did it for me?"

Realizing she had said too much, she covered her mouth and refused to say anything else.

"Please tell me," I said to her in a pleading voice. "Please," I repeated, almost breaking into tears.

Looking hesitant, she removed her hand and said, "That day she broke up with you, didn't you find it odd that she wouldn't speak to you? Or that she didn't even get out of bed?" asked Sakuno.

"What do you mean?" I asked, still confused.

Looking up at me with sorrowful eyes, she said, "She, her father, and her brother, arrived in America on Christmas day. At the airport, a car went out of control and there was a terrible accident. Ryoma was sent to the hospital."

My blood ran cold. "W-what?" I asked. "But she seemed fine when I visited her."

"That's because her injuries weren't that bad, but, she did hit her head."

"Her head?" I asked.

"That's right. And, because of this, she received brain damage, there were two side effects."

Suddenly, everything clicked into place for me. I finally realized why Ryoma had broken up with me. Why she had said that she had moved on. Why she hadn't talked to me. Why she had given me that cold look. Why she had had that dog with her.

Sakuno's voice broke through my thoughts, confirming my suspicions. "The doctors said that she will never walk again, and that she had lost the ability to speak."

**Ryoma**

I was sitting on a chair swing out behind the mansion with Chestnut and Karupin, watching the newly blooming sakura trees that my father had planted in our back yard. It was a warm afternoon, and the sun made me drowsy.

I must have fallen asleep, because, when next I opened my eyes, it was evening, but, I barely noticed that, because, sitting on the floor beside me, was Keigo. Seeing him, I squeaked in surprise, and he must have heard me, because he looked up. Then, the most blissful smile broke out on his face, and I couldn't help the tears that came to my eyes.

"K-Keigo…" I said, and he looked surprised.

"I thought you couldn't speak?"

I looked at him, wondering how he knew.

Looking sheepish, he said, "I had Sakuno-san tell me everything, well, it was more like forced."

At this, I couldn't help but laugh. At first, he looked surprised, then he started to laugh too. Hearing his deep, throaty chuckle, was like music to my ears. Once we had stopped laughing, he looked at me curiously, and I started looking around for something to write with. Realizing what I was doing, he gave me his cell phone, and I began typing.

'I've been going to speech therapy.'

"Speech therapy?" he asked. "What's that?"

'I go see a doctor, and he helps me learn to speak again. Hehe, I've been practicing almost 24/7, and now, I can say a few words at a time. Soon, I'll be talking like normal!'

He smiled, then said, "That's great!" Then, suddenly, his face turned serious and, wrapping his hand around mine, he said, "Ryoma, I'm so sorry for forgetting about your birthday, and not being here for you when you needed me most. But please, can you find it in your heart to forgive me? You have no idea how much I've missed you! I've tried moving on, but, after you, no other girl will ever look beautiful to me. Please, won't you forgive me?"

Truth be told, I had long forgiven him, but, hearing him say all that just brought tears to my eyes.

Looking alarmed when I started crying, he said, "R-Ryoma? Is there something wrong?"

Looking up at him, I smiled, and shook my head, typing, 'There's nothing wrong, I'm crying because I'm happy.'

At this, he looked incredibly relieved. "So, will you be my girlfriend again?" he asked.

I smiled, and typed, 'But of course.'

At this, he let out a whoop of joy, and wrapped his arms around me, giving me a deep and passionate kiss. When next we broke apart, I looked into his loving eyes, and said my first full sentence since the accident.

"I love you."

_**The End  
**__

SkyGem: Oh. My. God. I cannot believe that it is finally coming to an end! I think I'm gonna cry. I've gotten waaaaaay too attached to this story. Anyways, I know the ending probably seems rushed, and isn't really that good, but I really like it. What do you guys think? Please review one last time, and tell me what you think. Also, if you liked this story, please take some time to check out some of my other stories. Thank you, fare well, and I hope to see you all again. ^_^


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